Former Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi had allowed the appointment of new doctors as well as the annual transfers of doctors. The Government Medical Practitioners’ Association says that many doctors have been inconvenienced due to this and that there are many irregularities in the annual transfer list of grade medical officers prepared for the year 2021.
The association points out that the current medical transfer system, which was introduced in 2001, is an outdated system, with 11,000 of the 19,000 doctors employed by the Ministry of Health stationed in the Colombo, Gampaha and Kandy districts.
Accordingly, medical appointments and transfers should be freed from the clutches of trade union leaders and a new system should be introduced to suit the needs of the country, the union said.
Following is the full text of the statement issued by the Government Medical Practitioners Association (GMPA).
