Alcoholics will have to foot medical bills from next year - Health Minister

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena announced yesterday that from 2011 money will be charged from patients who fall sick due to alcoholism, suffer from illnesses caused by alcohol and seek medical treatment from State hospitals. This will be done under the recommendations of doctors who conduct diagnosis, a Health Ministry spokesman said.
According to the spokesman, Minister Sirisena made this announcement after handing over letters to nursing students at the Kandy Nurses Training School. The Minister said when a doctor diagnoses that the cause of the disease is alcohol, the State money spent on treating such patients will be charged from them under the new system. The main objective of this initiative is saving human lives from alcoholism not having to make the tax payers to foot the bill.
Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) is the latest threat in Sri Lanka and 90 percent of such patients are heavy smokers and alcoholics.
Around 350 persons die daily from NCDs. Around 2000 persons die annually from road accidents and most accidents are caused by drunk drivers. The country looses a significant amount of property and human lives due to alcoholism, he pointed out. The Ministry spend over Rs 60,000 million on development of the health sector and curative services. And also spends over Rs 1,100 million annually on importing drugs. The majority of drugs are used on patients suffering from NCDs. But NCDs can be controlled with good health habits such as avoiding alcohol and smoking. Smoking and alcohol cause many NCDs such as cancer, strokes, diseases in the nervous system and heart diseases. (Daily News)