APHNH President Raveen Wickremesinghe on trust, standards and collaboration, as the Healthcare Leadership Summit Convenes on March 9

Sri Lanka’s private healthcare sector is being asked to expand capacity while rebuilding public trust. In this interview, Raveen Wickremesinghe, President of the Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes (APHNH), sets out an evidence-led agenda for the new term, focused on clearer standards, ethical safeguards, and closer alignment with national health priorities. He notes that Sri Lanka still lacks a single, reliable dataset on healthcare utilisation and spending, including private-sector OPD volumes, which keeps policy debate driven by perception rather than evidence. Founded in 1972, APHNH says the next phase must be shaped by measurable, knowledge-based development across the full health system, public and private.

What role should private healthcare play in supporting national health priorities, and why are public-private partnerships essential now?

Private healthcare is a core partner in delivering national health priorities and cannot operate in isolation. Sri Lanka’s system works best when public and private capacity complement each other, with private care helping reduce pressure on public hospitals and preserving access for those who depend on state services.

This partnership becomes most visible in moments of strain, such as COVID-19, when private-sector capacity, including PCR testing, helped support national response efforts as public resources were stretched.

As the recognised representative body for the private hospital sector since 1972, APHNH’s role is to make this contribution more structured through practical public-private collaboration, while advocating reforms that improve efficiency without compromising patient safety, fairness, or ethical standards.

How has Sri Lanka’s private healthcare sector modernised clinical care through early investment in technology and specialised services, particularly from the 1990s onwards?

Private healthcare investment has strengthened Sri Lanka’s health system by introducing new technology and specialised services, while also easing pressure on the Government sector by expanding access and capacity and bringing innovation closer to patients across the island. The private sector has often led early adoption of advanced diagnostics and complex procedures, helping more Sri Lankans receive treatment locally and raising national clinical standards.

This is reflected in key milestones: Nawaloka Hospital installed Sri Lanka’s first MRI scanner in 1992 and the first mammography unit in September 1992, followed by the first minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery in April 1993. In August 1994, Nawaloka established the first cardiac catheterization laboratory and the first coronary artery bypass surgery unit in a hospital, and Sri Lanka’s first CABG procedure was successfully performed on 15 August 1994. In renal care, Western Hospital (Colombo), founded in 1984 as Lanka Medicare, pioneered dialysis and carried out the country’s first kidney transplant in 1985. In fertility care, Sri Lanka’s first successful IVF took place in November 1999 at the privately run ICSI Lanka Fertility Centre in Colombo, led by Dr. V. Arulandarajah, while Nawaloka later introduced an IVF treatment centre in 2005, alongside advances in neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and laser eye surgery. The sector also strengthened diagnostic and quality benchmarks, with Asiri Hospitals introducing Sri Lanka’s first integrated laboratory, Asiri Surgical Hospital installing the first neuro-navigation platform (Medtronic StealthStation) in 2004, and Hemas Hospitals becoming Sri Lanka’s first internationally accredited hospital in 2011.

 How can private hospitals help more people stay healthy through regular check-ups and early screening, and how does stronger diagnostic capacity ease pressure on public hospitals? 

Preventive care is one of the most practical ways to protect both patients and the health system. In Sri Lanka, noncommunicable diseases drive much of the country’s health burden and account for 74.8% of deaths (WHO, 2021). When problems are detected late, treatment becomes more complicated and far more expensive, for families and for the country.

Private providers can help change this by making regular check-ups and screening a normal part of life, and by strengthening early diagnosis through laboratories and diagnostic services. This matters because many people pay for care directly, out-of-pocket spending was 40.22% of current health expenditure in 2022, and prevention plus clear care pathways can reduce that strain.

When diagnostic capacity is stronger and screening happens on time, fewer cases reach crisis point. That reduces avoidable admissions, eases pressure on public hospitals, and frees public resources for the patients who rely on them most.

What outcomes do you expect from the First APHNH Healthcare Leadership Summit on March 9, and what should stakeholders expect?

The Summit is designed as an action-oriented platform, and will be held on 9 March 2026 from 3.00 p.m. onwards at Waters Edge, Colombo, bringing together hospital leaders, policymakers, regulators, insurers, investors, and international experts to focus on practical, implementable solutions for Sri Lanka’s healthcare sector. The programme will feature two focused sessions, “Inside Healthcare Leadership: What Really Works” and “Building the Future of Private Healthcare in Sri Lanka,” with contributions from six speakers: Dr. Hafeez Rahman Padiyath, Dr. Hamdani Anver, Mr. Chandana L. Aluthgama, Dr. Paiboon Eksangsri (President, Private Hospital Association of Thailand), Dr. Lakith Peiris, and Raveen Wickremesinghe (President, APHNH).

The Summit aims to deliver a single, trackable outcome in the form of an outcome document or charter, setting out defined actions, responsibilities, timelines, and periodic progress updates. The event is invitation-only; stakeholders wishing to be considered may contact the APHNH Secretariat.