Source :MAS Holdings

For MAS Holdings, community investment is more of a way of being. Throughout the years as the company grew, so did the communities that they operated. The company focused its energy and resources to uplift education in the communities, improve and upgrade community health infrastructure and sports. 2009 saw MAS channel their resources towards a worthy national cause - a Forty Five Million Rupee (USD 400,000) upgrade of equipment at the National cancer Institute (NCI) at Maharagama. 

More than 15,000 people from all corners of the country make their way to Maharagama each year relying on the NCI, the only public cancer institute in Sri Lanka dedicated to the diagnosis and follow-up treatment of cancer patients. Apart from facilitating patients with identification of cancers and specialized care, the NCI also functions as a training centre for undergraduates of the medical faculties Colombo, Kelaniya and Sri Jayawardanapura as well as for post graduate students of the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM), University of Colombo.

Equipment Scarcity
One of the biggest challenges faced by the cancer hospital is the lack of proper equipment. Diagnostic facilities, surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are provided as services, but the increasing number of patients called for new and advanced medical equipment and facilities. This caused grievous concern among the medical staff of the NCI. Come 2009, things changed. 

Forty Five Million Rupee Investment
“For MAS, it has always been about doing the right thing, a concept embedded into the company’s core values.” states Deshamanya Mahesh Amalean, Chairman – MAS Holdings. “We have a role to play in community development. We step in when we see a need that must be addressed. That is our community spirit.”

It is in this context that MAS approached the cancer hospital to identify their most urgent needs in order to provide patients better health care and facilities. After discussions with Dr Sulochana Yoganathan, Director of the NCI and doctors of the hospital, the urgent upgrade requirements were identified.

In October 2009, an Echo Cardiographic Unit and accessories totaling to Rs. 5 million (USD 43,000) was donated by Ajay Amalean, Group Director – MAS Holdings, to kick start the first phase of the project. With around 30 patients walking in daily, requiring tests to be carried out prior to any diagnosis, this unit was one of the most urgent requirements by the NCI. A brand new Video Endoscopy System was installed at the hospital soon after. The system amounting to Rs. 10 million (USD 87,000) provided medical staff with the ability to carry out tests and provide automated reports as well as images, enabling doctors to offer their patients a clearer idea of the symptoms.

MAS turned their focus to the Surgical Unit next. The first and most important request put forward by the surgeons was for a new Video Laparoscopy System and accessories, amounting to Rs. 17 million (USD 150,000). The apparatus enables surgeons to perform ovarian treatments via video, allowing patients to go back home within 2 days of the surgery as opposed to 3 weeks, since the treatment does not cause patients to have incision wounds, as was the case prior to receiving the equipment. This has increased the cost effectiveness of the surgical unit drastically.

“This Laparoscopy system has increased the cost effectiveness of the Surgical Unit many fold. ” stated Dr. Indrani Amarasinghe, Chief Surgeon of the NCI.

“We are grateful for MAS for taking this initiative, more so for the patients we see every day, knowing that we are doing as much as we can to lessen their pain and suffering. What we need is more people to come forward in a similar manner to offer their time and support to the NCI.”   
Repairs were also carried out on the Colonovideoscope and the Gastroscope, equipment used in the surgical unit to detect cancerous symptoms in the abdominal area, where the tubes sent through the abdomen of the patients get contaminated by saliva and intestinal secretions. According to the staff, clogged up scopes require intensive repair at least once a year.

Before the end of 2009, more requests poured in from various other departments of the hospital. The 20 year old Flame Photometer used in the Biochemistry Laboratory was becoming increasingly inefficient for measuring the vital sodium and potassium percentages of blood samples of patients, an important test that decides the necessary level of chemo-therapy that has to be carried out. The newly donated Flame Photometer amounting to Rs. 1.8 million (USD 15,000), apart from producing a stable flame as opposed to the old apparatus also carries out automatic 1/200 dilution of serums, earlier carried out manually by the staff.

Upgrading the Microbiology Department was next. One of the most important procedures at the NCI, as is with all healthcare institutes is water distillation, ensuring sterilization of all medical and laboratory testing procedures. Many tests conducted by the laboratory need distilled water, and before the laboratory’s very own apparatus was donated, most tests could not be carried out at regular intervals.

The only Water Distillation Apparatus used earlier at the NCI was located in the Biochemistry Laboratory, and medical staff were required to wait their turn to receive distilled water, a time-consuming process that hindered the daily number of laboratory tests carried out by each department.

The donated Water Distillation Apparatus, has improved the testing procedure considerably. Used for culture media, a liquid needed to support the growth of microorganisms, the laboratory now produces sufficient culture media that can last up to 3 days within a controlled environment.    

A New Year, A New Start
In 2010, MAS has added to the list of donated equipment, starting off with the - 86C Freezer valued at Rs. 1.5 million (USD 13,000) for the Microbiology Department. When blood samples of patients were taken in by the NCI, one of the biggest problems they faced was preservation. Once a patient is diagnosed with cancer, the medical staff preserves a blood sample of the patient, using the serum to conduct tests on. The usual procedure in developed countries is to preserve these blood samples for as long as the patient requires medical care, testing how various drugs affect the serum.  

Unfortunately, for the Microbiology unit at the NCI, the method of preservation was to freeze the samples in a -20C Freezer, which only preserved serum for a few months at the most. With the donation of the -86C Freezer, the laboratory is able to freeze blood samples at -72C, for a minimum of 10 years. The freezer also stores anti-bodies and controls culture media.

The NCI, together with 6 other hospitals in the country is also conducting the National Antimicrobial Resistant Survey Project (NARSP), where research is carried out on microbodies, which can be frozen in the -86C Freezer.

The Elisa Microplate Reader and Washer amounting to Rs. 1.1 million (USD 10,000) that was also donated to the laboratory has been a welcome change, the only other Reader and Washer in the hospital being located in the Biochemistry Laboratory. The Hepatitis C disease amongst some patients needs to be discovered and plates accurately read in order to conduct preliminary testing on patients with various drug doses, and the Elisa Reader produces accurate readings so that the medical laboratory is capable of handling more readings on a daily basis. So far, around 30 readings are carried out per week.

The Elisa washer on the other hand cleans all microplates that are used for testing. These microplates are required to be 100% hygienic since the tests carried on them may produce different results if the microorganisms are even slightly affected by bacteria.
 “We are extremely pleased on how the hospital has developed in less than one year, taking great strides towards more advanced technologies thanks to the donations from MAS. For our patients, it means that they get the best care and the finest facilities that we can provide. It is indeed a wonderful feeling to be able to provide them with that much more hope.” Dr. Sulochana Yoganathan stated.

In the Histopathology Department at the NCI, staff members pointed out the requirement for an electronic microtome machine. The machine that was used earlier was manually operated, causing problems ranging from accuracy of trimming biopsy samples to the efficiency of the number of samples trimmed and sectioned per day. Staff members were also strained using the machine, which has to be hand operated, and this in turn led to repetitive strain injuries.

The Motorized Electronic Microtome donated by MAS amounting to Rs. 3 million  (USD 26,000) solves all these issues. As opposed to having one manual machine in the department, the staff can now use both the motorized and manual machines simultaneously, all the while using the motorized machine for more accurate trimming and sectioning of the biopsy samples. Where the trimming had to be done manually, the new Microtome machine can be programmed to operate automatically, increasing the number samples trimmed from 100 to 200 or even more, a 100% increase of efficiency. This has helped the staff a great deal since the samples are required not only for the regular hospitalized patients, but also for the thousands that travel to the NCI from across the island on a regular basis.

MAS also donated a new X-Ray and Processor Unit that helps the NCI cater to the increasing demand of a rising number of patients in-house. “This is a project that was planned and executed within a very short period of time, with maximum results,” comments Ajay Amalean. “For MAS, the value of our investment can be seen in the lives that we have touched and made better. As a responsible corporate, we are committed to make a positive impact on society. Today, the NCI is able to help more patients, give more hope, save more lives.”

Giving Hope
MAS Holdings continues to invest in the wellbeing of their employees and the communities they operate in. “We focused our strength and resources on where it was needed the most. That is the culture that we have created within MAS, to be passionately involved in all things we do. In the end, the communities we are part of will be sustained for future generations,” Dian Gomes, Group Director – MAS Holdings states. “That’s what really matters, the development of the societies that we operate in. Our children looking at better and brighter futures. That we as a company, a community, can walk with our heads held high and be proud of the fact that we are doing our part to create a sustainable society.”


From right - Dian Gomes - Group Director, MAS Holdings, Ajay Amalean - Group Director, MAS Holdings, and Dr. Sulochana Yoganathan, Director, NCI (far left)




From right - Dr. Sulochana Yoganathan, Director, NCI, Ajay Amalean - Group Director, MAS Holdings, Gomes - Group Director, MAS Holdings and Ananda Welikala - Director, Brand Protection, Compliance & Risk Management, MAS Holdings