Mullaitivu Hospital

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Mullaitivu Hospital
Ministry of Health, Northern Province
Geography
Location Mullaitivu, Mullaitivu District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Organisation
Care system Public
Funding Government hospital
Services
Beds256
Links
Lists Hospitals in Sri Lanka

Mullaitivu Hospital is a government hospital in Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka. It is the leading hospital in Mullaitivu District and is controlled by the provincial government in Jaffna. As of 2010 it had 256 beds. [1] The hospital is sometimes called Mullaitivu District General Hospital or Mullaitivu District Hospital.

This hospital has had a troubled past. It was once very overcrowded, according to information from Parliamentary debates in 1961. [2]

When the December 26, 2004, tsunami hit the area, this hospital had 30 beds. The hospital was 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the coast and was completely surrounded by water for a time. After the tsunami hit, a number of nurses and staff had lost their homes and had to sleep in hospital offices or in tents some distance from the hospital. The Red Cross helped repair the hospital and provided tents to serve as temporary shelter for hospital staff. The tents were set up adjacent to the hospital. [3]

The hospital suffered further damage during the Sri Lankan Civil War. On December 15, 19 and 20, 2008, shelling by Sri Lankan artillery hit the hospital and hospital grounds. Two patients and two staff were wounded and some damage to the hospital and medical equipment also resulted. In January 2009 on three separate days the hospital and its grounds were shelled and five people were killed and twenty-eight were wounded. [4] [5]

The Indian government in 2012 provided LKR 89 million (USD 700,000) worth of equipment to the Mullaitivu District General Hospital. A newer 150-bed General Hospital, apparently replacing the old facility, was opened by Indian efforts. Adjacent to that hospital, India began construction of another 100-bed hospital. [6]

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References

  1. ↑ "Under Line Ministry Beds 2010" (PDF). Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka.
  2. ↑ Parliamentary Debates. Vol. 40. Sri Lanka. 1961. p. 182.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ "Supporting Mullaitivu hospital". International Committee of the Red Cross. 14 February 2005. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  4. ↑ "Sri Lanka: Repeated Shelling of Hospitals Evidence of War Crimes". Human Rights Watch. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  5. ↑ "Valipunam hospital (displaced Mullaitivu Hospital) – Still Counting the Dead". stillcountingthedead.com. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  6. ↑ Balachandran, P. K. (16 May 2012). "Massive aid for Mullaitivu Hospital". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 October 2019.

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