August 03, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s healthcare system is reportedly facing operational strain due to widespread irregularities in the transfer process of medical officers, with the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) blaming the Ministry of Health’s Medical Services Unit for bypassing established protocols.
The annual rotation of medical professionals—typically governed by a transparent, guideline-driven process—has been marred by significant deviations this year, according to union spokesperson Dr Chamil Wijesinghe.
The GMOA claims that the Medical Services Unit acted without adequate consultation, ignoring the existing administrative framework that outlines how transfers should be managed.
The result, according to the GMOA, is a deeply flawed deployment landscape affecting the placement of more than 23,000 doctors across the island. Of this number, over 10,000 medical professionals are reportedly in limbo, awaiting the implementation of their official transfer orders. The backlog has led to misallocation of critical staff and operational inefficiencies across numerous hospitals.
Dr Wijesinghe further highlighted that close to half of Sri Lanka’s government-employed doctors are currently not stationed where they are officially assigned. This mismatch is said to be undermining patient care, especially in rural and underserved regions, where staffing gaps are now becoming more pronounced.
The union warns that if corrective action is not taken promptly, the consequences could ripple through the entire public health network, impacting service delivery and morale within the sector. While the annual transfer process is intended to maintain fairness, ensure career progression, and balance staffing levels, the GMOA claims that recent developments have turned what should be a routine administrative exercise into a source of institutional dysfunction.
Healthcare professionals have called for urgent intervention by higher authorities, demanding that the Ministry revisit and rectify the transfer process in line with the established policies. They argue that trust in the system is essential not only for the effective functioning of the medical workforce, but also for maintaining the public’s confidence in the country’s healthcare infrastructure.
