Apollo Hospital re-launched as Lanka Hospitals under the chief presence of Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Governor of Central Bank together with Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who is the Chairman of Lanka Hospitals. A new logo as well as new vision and mission statements were also unveiled during the ceremony.
Addressing the gathering, Cabraal, said, “However small the particular ailment appears to be to the hospital, for every patient who comes for care and curing, it is important. Your statement ‘caring, curing’ gives us the indication that you are on the right track. Because not only are you thinking of curing, but you are also thinking of caring. Perhaps that is important in the re-launch of a hospital that you are giving this message to people that you intend caring for them and you intend curing them as well”.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that some of the hospital beds would be reserved for the military.
“In time to come, we want to dedicate a certain amount of beds to the soldiers. Though it’s a government hospital running like a private hospital, our main concern is our customer. It’s a different person who is coming here with a lot of worries and problems. Also, the families are coming with a lot of concerns. So that is why we want to be caring. We have to think of the worries of that person as our worries so that he is without any worries,” he said.
The Defence Secretary also explained, “When a father comes in with a heart attack, if a son can walk out of a hospital with a big smile – that is what we want to do – that is caring”. He added that as a hospital that has been there for a long time, it has both plus and minus points. “We have to identify our weaknesses and improve on it”.
Lakith Peiris, CEO of Lanka Hospitals said that their aim is, by adopting international best practices, to transform Lanka Hospitals as the benchmark in the local hospital industry with the intention of gaining the status of the national healthcare provider in Sri Lanka.
He explained that the hospital has come a long way since it’s establishment in 2002 and has made many positive changes. The new logo, which one might think is the standard hospital cross has taken shape through the formation of four letter L’s depicting lifeblood, leap, link and luxury. “In summary, the new logo represents our devotion and dedication to our cause, our understanding of our customers’ medical needs and our belief that everyone requires an equal amount of attention”, Peiris added.
Dr Nalaka Godahewa, Managing Director of Sri Lanka Insurance, the controlling shareholder of Lanka Hospitals said, “In the year ahead, we will put in place a number of strategic initiatives which aim to propel Lanka Hospitals to be positioned as a hospital and a corporate that is truly world-class. Futhermore, as a part of our vision to become the national health care providers, Lanka Hospitals will in future set up a chain of hospitals to take quality health care at an affordable price to people living outside Colombo”
