The Japanese Government has provided Rs.3 billion for the construction of buildings for the expansion of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

The plans were afoot to construct four floors along with the ground floor which would house central facilities such as diagnostic investigations, four Radiology rooms, dental x-ray room, mamography room, Endoscopy room and Physiology room, said Director of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Dr. E. Devanesan.

“Under this expansion, the first floor of the hospital will house the theatre complex with eight operating theatres including two recovery rooms. The second floor would house the ICU with twenty beds, two rooms for infected cases and the same floor will have a laboratory complex for clinical pathology, hematology, bio Chemistry and micro biology.

The third floor would be reserved for future expansion and used as a lecture room conferences and staff facilities”, Dr. Devanesan added.

Earlier, some patients in need of attention had to be flown to Colombo by the ICRC whilst patients requiring urgent medical attention were earlier flown to Colombo by the Air Force or transferred to Vavuniya Hospital.

Dr. Devanesan said that he was hopeful that the hospital could have special units for patients needing emergency, cardiology and neuro surgical treatments for the patients who are transferred all the way to Colombo at present.