Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, stated that the government is in the process of preparing and implementing a formal transfer mechanism for medical officers.

He made these remarks in response to a question raised by journalists at the Cabinet press briefing held today (31), regarding the nationwide token strike initiated this morning by the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA).

Addressing the media, the Minister said that about 6,000 doctors are scheduled to be transferred by May 10, noting that the process commenced in the first week of February.

“About 6,000 doctors who are scheduled for transfers will be transferred by May 10. It started in the first week of February. A formal process of this nature has not been implemented over the past 13 years,” he said.

The Minister also pointed out that the ongoing transfer process is providing justice for many doctors who have been treated unfairly by the respective associations.

He further alleged that although the association claims to have served on transfer boards, some members of the association had remained in the same positions for 13 to 17 years.

“Therefore, all these irregularities are being stopped and an annual transfer process is being implemented,” he vowed.

He emphasized that the new system would ensure fairness for doctors who had previously been subjected to injustice.

“This will bring justice to many of the doctors who have been subjected to injustice, so they like it. Who don’t like this is those who abused their powers to keep their executive council members and the wives of their members in whichever places they like for years. Therefore, the relevant transfer process is being implemented,” he charged. 

The Minister also highlighted that until around 2018, the Ministry of Health maintained a list for the Northern and Eastern regions, used to assign doctors during and after the war.

“Even 8-9 years after the war ended, no one has tried to stop it. By 2020, it had evolved into a rural service list. In preparing that list, there are criteria from the Ministry of Health. Although the Ministry of Health should have established seven key criteria to prepare this list, various irregularities occurred due to this association’s influence,” he said.

He added that, this time, the Ministry of Health engaged with Directors and Provincial Directors of Health Services, conducting multiple discussions before preparing the Replacement List of Specialist Medical Officers based strictly on the seven criteria.

“The Ministry does not require trade unions to prepare such lists. This is not the responsibility of unions, but of the Ministry of Health. Accordingly, a list of 265 doctors was prepared and published. There is no necessity for union involvement in this process,” the Minister asserted.