Eight secondary care institutions provide specialized services to the people in the Province. In fact, DGH Nuwaraeliya and DBH Gampola are under the management of the National Ministry of Health, while the rest including DGH Matale, DGH Nawalapitiya, DBH Dambulla. DBH Dickoya, DBH Rikillagaskada and DBH Theldeniya are under the administration of the Department of Health Services, Central Province.
Compared to the Primary Healthcare settings, there is a huge difference in service provision from the secondary Healthcare institutions in terms of Clinic attendance, Inward admissions, Deliveries, and ETU admissions. This further indicates the need of strengthening the health care services at primary level. Generally there is an increasing trend of ETU admissions in all institutions.
Maternal and child health care services at secondary health care institutions showed a remarkable improvement over the last few years especially in terms of quality of service expecting a reduction in maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in the province.
Table 3.3.1. Basic information on services delivered in Secondary care institutions:
| DGH Matale | DGH Nawalapitiya | DBH Dambulla | GH Nuwaraeliya | BH Gampola | DBH Rikillagaskada | DBH Dickoya | DBH Theldeniya | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Institutions | ||||||||
| No. of Wards | ||||||||
| No. of Beds | ||||||||
| Bed occupancy rate | ||||||||
| No.of Admissions | ||||||||
| OPD Attendance | ||||||||
| Total inpatient days | ||||||||
| No.of clinics held | ||||||||
| Clinics Attendance | ||||||||
| Total No. of Deaths | ||||||||
| No. of Deaths Within 48 hour | ||||||||
| No. of patients transferred out | ||||||||
| No. of Emergency Treatment Units | ||||||||
| No. of Patients Treated in ETUs |
In-ward care provided by secondary care institutions has undergone dramatic changes in the last decade as more and more patients seek in-ward care for non-communicable diseases like uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, hypertension which result in a prolonged hospital stay. This accounts partly for the high bed occupancy rate in some specialized units of these institutions.
There was an increase in the attendance at special clinics in secondary health care institutions, probably due to increase awareness and early detection of diseases.