Some four Sri Lankans die every three hours due to various accidents and some 35 deaths are reported every day, Dr. Samitha Siritunga, Community Medicine Consultant at the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases of the Health Ministry said yesterday. He said that every year about one million people are hospitalised due to accidents.
The week from July 1 to July 5 has been announced as the ninth National Accident Prevention Week and Dr. Siritunga was speaking at a press conference held at the Government Information Department to announce the Health Ministry’s initiatives to coincide with the event.
He said that people who are victims of accidents go to outpatient departments, private hospitals, and seek Ayurvedic and traditional medicine for treatment and one out of every five people gets medical treatment at some point in their life due to some accident.
Dr. Siritunga said that two to three people die every day due to drowning and some 800 people die every year, and apart from road accidents, a large number of people die due to falls and drowning.
He also said that some 12,000 deaths occur annually due to accidents.
He said that the people who contribute the most to the economy suffer from accidents and it is a huge loss for development work and the government also has to spend a significant amount to treat these people.
Dr. Siritunga said that around 50 percent of the people who receive treatment from the outpatient department are victims of domestic accidents, 25 percent are road accident victims and 10 percent are injured due to accidents at work.
He also stated that it is the opinion of scholars that every accident can be prevented, and that accidents can be prevented if attitudinal and behavioural changes are made.
Sandya Karunaratne
