Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa stated in Parliament that the annual transfer process of doctors, which has not been implemented formally since 2013, will be re-implemented from the first week of February 2026.
He stated this in response to a question posed by National People’s Power MP Roshan Akmeemana.
The Minister admitted that since 2013, the annual transfers of doctors have not been carried out according to proper procedures, and this has created a severe shortage of doctors in rural hospitals.
Speaking at the event, MP Roshan Akmeemana pointed out that currently, doctors are not assigned to rural hospitals under annual transfers but only on the basis of filling vacancies.
“Doctors who come as substitutes in this way stay in a hospital for only a short period of about a year. However, when a doctor is assigned under the annual transfer system, they are obliged to serve in that hospital for at least five years. This system is essential to strengthen the rural hospital system,” the MP added.