Following a statement made by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) led National People’s Power (NPP) Executive Committee member and former Parliamentarian Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, that 300 out of 1,400 medical graduates who had completed the internship in April of this year (2023), have not obtained appointments as doctors. The Ministry of Health said that they have not been notified of such an issue.

When queried by The Daily Morning yesterday (3), the Secretary to the Ministry Janaka Sri Chandraguptha said that the Ministry has not been notified of such an incident so far, adding however that similar cases are reported every year because of many reasons, especially due to personal issues. He said that he would not like to comment on this issue since no information has been received by the Ministry in this regard. Chandraguptha also said that it is better to contact the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Asela Gunawardena who was not available to comment.

Jayatissa, making this allegation, said that the newest issue is that medical graduates who graduate from local universities do not undertake the doctors’ appointments and that they (medical graduates) are also leaving the country. He stressed that the Government must take steps to stop them from leaving the country. He also said that some 1,500 to 1,700 medical doctors out of 18,600 have left their jobs while 748 doctors will be retiring by next month (August).

Earlier, it was reported that the Ministry should by now grant internship appointments to 400 medical graduates, including 222 medical graduates (repeat) who have passed the final year examination in June, 2022, and 178 medical graduates from foreign universities. According to sources, those graduates’ lists held by the Ministry should be forwarded to the Sri Lanka Medical Council before the last week of May for the relevant process, but that it has not been done even by the mid of last month (June). It was alleged that certain officials of the Ministry are deliberately delaying the granting of internship appointments to 400 medical graduates who have passed the final year examination of Government medical faculties for the second time in June, 2022, and those who have obtained medical degrees from foreign universities.