Sri Lanka Medical Association makes initial donation of pulse oximeters to Colombo patients

The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), the national professional medical association in Sri Lanka which seeks to brings together medical practitioners of all grades and all branches of medicine, recently made an initial donation of pulse oximeters to COVID-19 patients in the Colombo district who are being triaged and home managed under the SLMA’s Doc 247 call service.

A pulse oximeter is a noninvasive device placed on an individual’s fingertip and uses light beams to estimate the oxygen saturation of the blood and the pulse rate. A normal level of oxygen is usually 95% or higher, so if at any point a patient’s readout is less, patients should contact a healthcare provider.

These potentially life-saving devices which were purchased by COVID Sahana, the SLMA COVID relief fund, were handed over to the Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Acting Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva in the presence of Dr. Asela Gunawardena, Director General of Health Services and other members of the SLMA.

Speaking about the project, Dr Ruvaiz Haniffa, the Chairperson of the Doc 247 Working Group of the SLMA said, ” As an apex medical body in the country, we consider it our duty to lend all possible aid to the suffering and to ensure that it reaches those who are truly in need. We plan to make several more donations to the people of this country when needed, and warmly invite anyone who would like to join us to do so by logging onto our website and donating to our COVID Sahana fund.”aption.