J’pura Hospital continues to incur losses, COPE reveals

It has been revealed at the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital continues to operate under a loss.

This revelation came to light when the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) of Parliament met recently under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera, to examine the Auditor General’s reports for the years 2022 and 2023 as well as the current performance of the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital Board.

Based on the Auditor General’s reports, COPE pointed out that there are several reasons contributing to the hospital’s losses, including observations that some patients had received treatment without making the necessary payments, and that in certain cases, payments that should have been collected from patients had been waived, the Parliamentary Communication Department said in a statement.

Furthermore, COPE highlighted that although specialist services were being provided, the hospital had not earned a sufficient income from these services. It was also disclosed that the necessary equipment for these specialist services were obtained from the hospital and that approximately Rs. 600 million had been paid as professional fees to the entire staff in 2023 for providing these services.

The officials present at the meeting stated that there is a system in place to provide free treatment for members of the clergy and for family members of hospital the staff. Additionally, retired hospital staff receive treatment under a scheme limited to Rs. 4,000, the statement added.

Accordingly, COPE recommended that immediate mechanisms be devised to eliminate this irregular context.

It was also revealed by COPE that a number of appointments had been made for unauthorized positions during a pre-election period, and that the 35% salary allowance that had been granted for these appointments are not legally valid. Moreover, while payments had been made with increased salaries for these irregular appointments, it was pointed out by members of the Committee that no salary had been paid for the legally appointed position of “Laundry Inspector.”

Thus, COPE recommended that a formal investigation be conducted regarding this matter and that disciplinary action be taken against all officials who have neglected their responsibilities.

It was also observed that a significant number of illegal payments had been made, and that the number of employees serving in the institution, the appointments granted to them, and the payments made had not been monitored in any form, as pointed out by the officers of the Auditor General’s Department.

Accordingly, the COPE Committee recommended that a proper investigation be carried out regarding the entire process and staff, and that a report be submitted within two months.

Furthermore, it was disclosed that a contract to implement and maintain an electronic document management system for the Board of Directors had been awarded in 2015 to a company in which the wife of a hospital director serves as a director, and that the company had been established on the day prior to the awarding of the said contract.

In addition, although approval had been obtained under a project to purchase 25 television sets of 32-inch size for the wards, it was disclosed that 25 television sets of 43-inch size had been purchased by paying a higher amount contrary to the approved, and that as of 2025.04.30, only six of these television sets had been put to use.

Moreover, it was decided at the meeting to summon the former Chairman of the hospital and the Board of Directors before COPE in the future.

Members of Parliament Nalin Bandara, S. M. Marikkar, Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Sunil Rajapaksha, Asitha Niroshana Egoda Vithana, Chandima Hettiarachchi, and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law were present at this Committee meeting held, according to the Parliamentary Communication Department.