Responsibilities of the preventive Health Unit:

• Planning of Preventive Health Services (long term and short term)
• Monitoring of preventive Health activities
• Technical support for special events and activities (develop preventive health services in estates, Occupational health, prevention of water borne diseases.)
• Surveys and operational research
• Coordinate with technical units of the MOH and other departments to ensure implementation of projects.
• Technical support to facilitate planning , monitoring and evaluation of preventive health programmes at District level

Preventive Health Services are provided through the 48 medical Officers of Health units in the CP. The geographical demarcation in most areas is similar to the Divisional secretary areas.
Each medical officer of Health unit provides Reproductive health services through the Public Health Midwives, Supervising Public Health Midwives and Public Health Nursing Sisters. Environment Health services are provided through the Public Health Inspectors and Supervising Public Health Inspectors. Dental Health services are provided through the Dental surgeons and dental therapists.

01. Respiratory Disease Control Unit

The resurgence of tuberculosis globally, and its association with HIV and the emergence of multi-drug resistant TB has made tuberculosis a communicable disease of high priority. Matale and Nuwaraeliya Respiratory Disease control units, are attached to District General Hospitals. Respiratory Disease control unit Kandy is functioning separately at Bogambara while inward patients care located at Teaching Hospital Kandy. All three units are functions under purview of the consultants’ chest physicians.

Regional Health Training Centre (RHTC) - Kadugannawa

The RHTC function as a training centre for conducting both basic and in-service training courses / programs. Prior to 1990 only PHMM basic training part II was conducted in Kadugannawa. Later it was upgraded as part of the strengthening of the basic services program in Sri Lanka

There are two main areas of services supported by the RHTC.

1. Training.
   • Basic training of primary health care personnel, namely Public Health Inspectors and Public Health Midwives.
   • Basic training for medical, dental and nursing students on community health.
   • Coordination of all the Provincial level in-service training for both preventive and curative health staff.
2. Provide primary health care services to the public through the field staff. 
   • This includes maternal and child health care (immunization, ante natal care, post natal care, well women clinic & family planning), environmental health, food sanitation, occupational health, estate health and school health etc. Special effort has been taken to improve the care provided as “model area” to facilitate the learning of all students.

Bio-Medical Engineering Services Unit

The repairing of all medical equipment prior to 2002 was carried out by the Bio- medical Engineering Services unit in Colombo (BES). There are 224 hospitals under the Central Provincial Health Department and it was impossible for the BES to take care of equipment repair and maintenance and large number of serviceable medical equipment were stocked in hospitals unable to be used due to minor repair. Medical equipment needing major repairs in secondary care hospitals were done by the BME unit on urgent requests. The Province did not have proper procedures for purchasing, condemning and maintenance of medical equipment. The Central Province Bio - Medical Engineering Services unit was established in November 2002 with the aim providing better coordinated support services within the Province to do equipment purchasing, maintenance and attend to minor repairs to medical equipment and to maximize the equipment usage time.

Major Functions of BME Unit- Central Province

• Repair of medical, surgical and other equipment in the health institutions within the   Central Province
• Provision of reports on equipment and other items to be condemned in health institutions
• Provision of technical guidance on purchasing of new equipment to health institutions.
• Provision of quality reports on newly purchased medical equipment.
• Distribution of newly purchased equipment to health institutions.
• Keeping inventory of medical equipment available at institutions.
• Training health staff on maintenance of medical equipment.

01. Patient Rehabilitation Services

Physical Rehabilitation Center, Digana

Due to lack of facilities and trained staff, the rehabilitation of physically disabled patients does not get adequate attention in the general health services. Most acute cases are managed in surgical and medical wards in general hospitals after which the patients may get discharged without any attention being paid to rehabilitation. Usually they end up as bed ridden or wheel chair dependant disabled citizens and are a burden to their family and society.  
According to the 1999 statistics of Teaching Hospital Kandy, for the 1st six month of 1999, 1100 patients who needed medium and long term rehabilitation were discharged without a proper rehabilitation plan.