“Hope for a Life”- Endowment of Neuro Navigation System
Sampath Bank PLC
The capacity of handling Neuro Surgeries have improved 4-fold, where before the programme 20 surgeries were handled a month whereas now 80 surgeries can be handled
INTRODUCTION
The project launched by Sampath Bank PLC attempts to address the critical needs of the health sector in Sri Lanka and instigate the required change that would significantly impact the lives of all citizens. Its ongoing CSR endeavors have clearly recognized the need to improve the health sector as a social development activity. With that rational in mind Sampath Bank has identified several approaches through which the national health care sector could be developed e.g. through Strengthening and better use of human resources in healthcare, Strengthening management capacity in healthcare, Providing access to long-term healthcare services, and Fostering quality in healthcare services. The primary objective of “Hope for a Life” endeavor is to enhance the capabilities of the National Hospital and elevate the standard of the hospital to international medical facilities in the region. Extending beyond the boundaries of the business framework of Sampath Bank PLC, this endeavor demonstrates the bank’s commitment to produce timely and relevant action for the benefit of the nation. Assuredly a national asset, the service rendered by the Neuro Navigation System would positively impact not only those stakeholders directly associated with the business but also convey lasting societal change among the mass populace, thereby deriving long term nation-wide progress.
FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY
Through corporate social responsibility Sampath Bank PLC applies its resources to address social issues. Using a research-based approach to understand the socio-economic needs of communities, it collaborates with several stakeholders when making investment decisions to execute productive products and projects which have a sustainable value with a superior customer service. The bank ensures that the projects include a suitable institutional framework for their execution, avoid duplication, and use the available institutional capacity. Whenever inter-organization coordination becomes essential to the execution of given projects, it endeavors to ensure that the projects include inter-agency coordination from the pre-investment phase onward.This project can be considered innovative as the Neuro Navigation System is the first such system gifted to a government hospital by a private commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The benefits of this programme cannot be compared to infrastructure development in the premises as it provides the opportunity of saving lives daily.
ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPACT
Some achievement can be measured by evident results post-implementation of the programme. For instance, before the programme a patient had to wait for a surgery for about 3 months. After its implementation patients can be taken in for a surgery in 1 week. The capacity of handling Neuro Surgeries have improved 4-fold, where before the programme 20 surgeries were handled a month whereas now 80 surgeries can be handled. Progress is measured to show a 300% improvement rate.FUTURE DIRECTION
The “Hope for a life” programme is not a one-off endeavor. The endowment of the Neuro Navigation System signals the completion of the first phase of the programme. The next phase of the project would subscribe to yet another prolific undertaking that would complement the health and longevity of the country’s masses. As Sampath achieved satisfactory results during the first phase, its next step is to achieve the same result with brain cancer patients. Therefore, its next step is to save more lives by providing Neuro Endoscopy machines to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka which can be used for brain surgery. This type of machinery is particularly useful when removing tumors in the fluid filled spaces of the brain. As another initiative, the bank has started working on renovating the house of Mrs Chithra Kumari, a patient who recovered from brain surgery performed with the Neuro Navigator – the first patient to undergo a brain surgery with a Neuro Navigator.
Sampath Bank PLC is the third largest private commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The Bank offers a wide range of financial services to individuals, corporate entities and institutional clients in Sri Lanka and has built a considerable reputation as an innovative bank.
