Preventing Deaths Due To Non-Covid Conditions – A Brisk Necessity

The number of deaths in Sri Lanka due to coronary artery/ heart disease back in 2017 was 28,554. More than 118,000 of our patients died in 2016 due to non-communicable diseases. It was 83 per cent out of all documented deaths in Sri Lanka. The fact that noncommunicable diseases are the leading cause of mortality worldwide is no secret. COVID-19 has completely disrupted the excellent “Health seeking behaviour” we had a few weeks ago. The number of deaths due to non-accessibility of essential health requirements or drugs is hardly discussed in media these days. Home-bound deaths will become a norm unless we launch a large-scale initiative to medicate patients, who are drug dependent.

- Dr Himantha Atukorale

It has been described in certain research papers that a “Second wave of deaths due to resource restriction in non-COVID conditions” will be of a larger magnitude than the virus itself. The “Third wave of morbidities due to disrupted care in long term conditions” will follow this second wave. Only a few countries have launched proper mechanisms to counteract these deaths.

I practice rheumatology and rehabilitation in a rural setting. Although arthritis does not cause mortality, it creates devastating disability. A large proportion of our patients have various other illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and heart disease. Even though my patients are rural folk, we had an excellent health-seeking behaviour. There were many reasons for this.