Dr.J.D.Arudchelvam
Towards a mature trauma system in Sri Lanka
Ekanayake, G., Arudchelvam, J., & Jagoda, A. I. (2024). Towards a mature trauma system in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Trauma, 1(1). p 7-8
Publication year: 2024
The publication of the Sri Lanka Journal of Trauma
(SLJT) marks a signicant milestone in the eld of med–
ical research and trauma care development in Sri Lanka.
SLJT is an open access, peer- reviewed multidisciplinary
publication committed to advancing the frontiers of trau–
ma care. Published quarterly, this is the ofcial Journal
of National Trauma Secretariat of Sri Lanka (NTSSL).
As a premier platform backed by the NTSSL, this jour–
nal is dedicated to fostering innovation, knowledge ex–
change, and the dissemination of cutting-edge research
in injury prevention, trauma management and system de–
velopment. We sincerely hope that these will contribute
to the enhancement of current scientic knowledge and
practices. We are following the best possible editorial
process and practices to ensure quality and accuracy of
scientic writing.
The recent history of organized trauma care in Sri
Lanka can be traced back to the year 1965/66 with the
establishment of the dedicated trauma center (Acci–
dent Service) at the Colombo General Hospital (cur–
rently National Hospital of Sri Lanka – NHSL). Since
then trauma care has evolved rapidly in Sri Lanka. We
have passed the initial stage and now looking forward
towards a mature trauma care system which is on par
with the best practices.
Health Organization (WHO) has published a maturity
index (Table 1)1. It has several defined domains. One of
the most important domains is the prehospital trauma
care. Sri Lanka is in a constant mechanism to upgrade
itself in this area over several decades. 2
One of the key areas in pre hospital care is the safe
transfer of patients. To address the issue of safe pre
hospital transport of patients, in the year 2007 , the first
pre hospital ambulance service was initiated in Sri Lanka
with the introduction of toll free call number 110. This
was by the Colombo Fire Department which is under
the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). It was a collaborative
effort between CMC, Accident Service of
NHSL and the Trauma Secretariat. However services
were restricted to the CMC area. The turning point was
the establishment of island wide, toll free pre hospital
ambulance service “Suwasariya” in 2016 with the
initial support from the government of India. It started
with 88 ambulances and now expanded to 687
ambulances . Service is available island wide with an
average response time of 8-12 minutes. There are few
private ambulance operators also.
index (Table 1)1. It has several defined domains. One of
the most important domains is the prehospital trauma
care. Sri Lanka is in a constant mechanism to upgrade
itself in this area over several decades. 2
One of the key areas in pre hospital care is the safe
transfer of patients. To address the issue of safe pre
hospital transport of patients, in the year 2007 , the first
pre hospital ambulance service was initiated in Sri Lanka
with the introduction of toll free call number 110. This
was by the Colombo Fire Department which is under
the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). It was a collaborative
effort between CMC, Accident Service of
NHSL and the Trauma Secretariat. However services
were restricted to the CMC area. The turning point was
the establishment of island wide, toll free pre hospital
ambulance service “Suwasariya” in 2016 with the
initial support from the government of India. It started
with 88 ambulances and now expanded to 687
ambulances . Service is available island wide with an
average response time of 8-12 minutes. There are few
private ambulance operators also.
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