- Officials urged to make permanent appointments to ministry, hospitals
The Ministry of Health has instructed the relevant officials to urgently fill vacancies of administrative officials in the ministry and hospitals, with a special focus on making permanent appointments in place of acting officials.
Speaking to The Daily Morning, Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni said that many key administrative positions of the ministry are currently held by acting officials, with some officials having to oversee several departments at once. This, he said, has led to a noticeable drop in efficiency in carrying out the relevant duties.
“Many junior administrator positions in hospitals also remain unfilled. For example, the Base Hospital in Mawanella has been without a medical superintendent for over a year. There is a medical officer (MO) who is overseeing the work, but they are doing so in the midst of their duties, and the appointment of acting officials is not a proper solution,” he explained.
Given these issues, he said that they had instructed the relevant officials including the Ministry Secretary and the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) to advertise these vacancies and make the necessary appointments as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Government recently instructed the said Secretary and the DGHS to ensure that the transfer process for doctors across all categories is carried out on time and in accordance with the due process. Dr. Wijemuni previously said that three transfer boards are responsible for managing these transfers. However, he noted that the process is not being properly implemented due to various factors, including trade union influence.
Sri Lanka is currently facing a shortage of healthcare professionals as more and more medical specialists, MOs, nurses, and other professionals leave the country for better opportunities abroad. Salary-related issues, heavy workloads, and limited career growth are allegedly driving this brain drain, making it difficult to retain skilled medical staff.