Hospital Bystander at
Apeksha Hospital.
A hospital bystander at Apeksha Hospital is rarely needed only once. Treatment brings patients back to Maharagama again and again, and each stay needs someone at the bedside. BetterHands places a trained attendant — the same one each admission wherever we can — so the family is not starting over every time.
Why families here call us
Not one admission, but many, over months.
Apeksha Hospital, the National Cancer Institute in Maharagama, treats patients from every part of Sri Lanka. For most of them, treatment is not a single stay. It is a pattern of admissions, going home, and coming back.
Families start out sharing the bedside between them. By the third or fourth admission, that rota has worn thin. Leave from work has run out, relatives from outside Colombo cannot keep travelling, and the person who has been doing the most is exhausted. A state ward still expects someone to be there for meals, washing and the night.
An attendant from us carries that role through the whole course of treatment. Where possible it is the same person each time, who already knows how your relative likes things done and what a bad day looks like for them. Our attendants are not nurses here: the medical team does the treatment. What they bring is steadiness — someone there, every shift, who notices and tells the nurses.
Government & teaching hospitals
Where the ward already expects someone to be there.
Admissions that come back
Cover can be booked for each admission in the treatment plan, with the same attendant returning wherever possible.
Families from far away
Patients come to Maharagama from across the island. An attendant lets relatives visit when they can instead of moving to Colombo.
Days that are hard to eat
Meals arrive whether or not the patient can face them. The attendant helps at the patient’s pace and tells the nurses when eating stops.
A worn-out main carer
The relative doing most of the caring needs nights off. Night shifts give them sleep without leaving the bedside empty.
- The role the ward is already counting on, filled by someone trained for it
- Personal care, feeding and overnight watching through the whole admission
- Pharmacy queues, scan queues and errands outside the ward
- Arranged around the ward’s own bystander-pass rules, which we do not control
Quick answers
A bystander at Apeksha Hospital, answered plainly.
Can we have the same attendant each time?
Wherever we can, yes. Tell us the admission dates when you know them, and we keep the same attendant for your relative across the course of treatment. If they are unavailable, we brief their replacement fully before the shift.
Does the attendant help with treatment?
No. Treatment, medicines and anything to do with drips or lines are for the hospital’s medical team. The attendant helps with meals, washing, comfort and company, and tells the nurses straight away when something changes.
Is Apeksha priced differently?
No. Cover costs the same as in any private hospital. The price depends only on the shift — six hours, twelve hours or twenty-four — starting from LKR 4,500/shift, with a 3-day minimum per admission.
Families we cover here come from
Towns whose admissions go to Apeksha Hospital.
Each town has its own page on ward cover — the commute, the shifts families there find hardest, and what comes after discharge.
Questions families ask
Bystander cover at Apeksha Hospital.
Yes. Apeksha Hospital is on our verified list of hospitals, and cover there is the same rate as anywhere else; the price follows the shift, not the hospital. Placement is arranged within the ward’s own rules on attendants, which we confirm before the first shift.
Hospital bystander cover is priced by shift length rather than by staff role. A 6-hour shift covering morning to evening is LKR 4,500 per shift, a 12-hour shift (7am to 7pm, or 7pm to 7am) is LKR 5,500 per shift, and continuous 24-hour cover is LKR 6,500 per day. These follow a one-time annual registration fee of LKR 20,000, and cover is booked for a minimum of 3 days. The rate does not change with the hospital: a government, teaching or base ward costs the same as a private room, in every district, with no travel supplements. Cover in a state ward is arranged around that ward's own bystander-pass rules. A free placement assessment is provided before the first shift.
Yes. Everything can be arranged by phone or WhatsApp. Tell us the ward, the admission dates and the shifts you cannot cover. You receive an update after every shift, and you can visit whenever you are able.
Yes. If the treatment plan gives you dates, share them and we plan cover around them. If an admission is moved, tell us and the shifts move with it.
They help with meals and drinks, washing, changing and moving, sit with the patient through the night, run errands outside the ward and keep the family informed. They report anything new — pain, sickness, confusion — to the nurses at once.
Many families need help at home between stays too: someone to keep meals, medicines and appointments on track, or a nurse for dressings and injections. We can arrange either from the same coordinator.
Cover is booked for at least 3 days, subject to the ward’s own rules on attendants. We confirm them with the ward rather than assume.
When the ward lets go
Care after discharge from Apeksha Hospital.
Nursing at home between treatment cycles, worked to the hospital’s instructions.
Home nursing in MaharagamaLive-in cover for rest and recovery between admissions, close to the hospital.
24-hour home care in MaharagamaDaytime help with meals, appointments and getting out, on the better weeks.
Elderly care services in MaharagamaHow ward cover works everywhere, and how shifts combine: hospital bystander service in Sri Lanka.
Transparent pricing
Membership first, then pick your shift.
One annual membership covers coordination, payroll and unlimited attendant replacements. After that you pay for the block of hours you actually need at the bedside.
BetterHands Annual Membership
LKR 20,000
One-time annual registration fee
- Unlimited caregiver replacements at no additional cost if you are not satisfied
- Payroll management and caregiver administration
- Ongoing coordination and support from the BetterHands team
- Access to all services covered under the BetterHands membership
Step two — choose your shift length
Shifts can be combined or changed as the hospital stay develops — you are not locked into one package, though every placement is booked for a minimum of 3 days.
6-Hour Shift
Morning to evening
LKR 4,500/shift
Covering the busiest stretch of the ward day
- Doctor rounds, procedures and meal times covered
- Personal care, feeding support and toileting assistance
- Updates to the family after the shift
- Suitable where relatives can cover the remaining hours
12-Hour Shift
7am to 7pm, or 7pm to 7am
LKR 5,500/shift
A full day shift or a full night shift
- Everything in the 6-hour shift
- Continuous presence across the whole day or night
- Same rate whichever half of the clock you choose
- The most common arrangement for a hospital stay
24-Hour Cover
Continuous, day and night
LKR 6,500/day
Round-the-clock ward presence
- Everything in the 12-hour shift
- Unbroken cover across day and night
- Overnight repositioning, toileting and emergency response
- Usually chosen for ICU step-down or post-operative recovery
Shift rates are charged in addition to the one-time annual registration fee of LKR 20,000. Bystander cover is priced by shift length rather than by staff role, and the rate does not change with the hospital — a government, teaching or base ward costs the same as a private room, in every district, with no travel supplements. Cover in a state ward is arranged around that ward’s own rules on attendants. Placements are booked for a minimum of 3 days, and a free placement assessment is provided before the first shift.
Someone admitted to
Apeksha Hospital?
Call or message us with the ward and the shifts you cannot cover. A verified attendant is matched and briefed before the first shift.
1,000+
Caregiver profiles
96%
First-match success
Trained
Caregiver training
72
Hours to placement