Govt. to outsource certain healthcare tests and diagnostics
The government is not privatising outright its health diagnostics facilities in state hospitals but rather choosing to adopt a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to outsource selective medical testing and treatment facilities in their hospitals, according to Finance Ministry officials.
A new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) will be formed by the ministry to substitute the existing National Agency for Public-Private Partnership (NAPPP) to implement such government initiatives and projects.
Despite the proposed private involvement, Cabinet spokesman and Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has stated at a recent media briefing that government hospital medical services will continue to be provided free of charge to patients.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Health to take necessary steps to acquire such services and equipment to diagnose relevant diseases, following the prescribed procurement procedure under the suitable public-private partnership subject to a performance based payment scheme.
Although 80 government hospitals currently have dialysis services, it has been observed that the existing facilities are insufficient to meet increasing clinical demand. As a consequence, taking into consideration the difficulties encountered by the kidney patients the requirement to expand dialysis services has been recognised.
In accordance with performance-based outsourcing, the government will partner with private providers to supply and operate diagnostic equipment, such as CT scanners, MRI machines, Cath Labs, and automated laboratory equipment, a ministry official disclosed. The move of outsourcing specific high-cost medical testing and, potentially, treatment services in public hospitals is largely driven by the increasing demand for advanced diagnostic services for Non-Communicable Diseases and the government’s inability to purchase or maintain this technology.In addition to labs, the Cabinet approved a similar PPP model to expand hemodialysis services, where private partners manage machines and consumables, while the government provides infrastructure and clinical oversight.
The Cabinet Memorandum cited financial limitations for purchasing high-cost equipment and complex, time-consuming procurement procedures as reasons for shifting to this model.
The PPA is aimed at creating a robust framework for investment promotion and project implementation, led by the President’s Senior Additional Secretary for Finance, operating under new PPP legislation expected soon to streamline project development and governance.
The new unit will attract private investment by providing a formal legal and regulatory structure for PPP projects, moving beyond the current advisory role of the NAPPP.
An interim unit is already functioning under the Senior Additional Secretary to the President within the Ministry of Finance,
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