Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella has stated that despite certain claims, no decision pertaining to non-approval of foreign leave for doctors has been made yet.

However, the Minister had noted that a discussion is due to be held with the health sector trade unions focusing on how Sri Lanka can retain its doctors, despite the ongoing situation.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference this morning (16 Aug), Secretary of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Dr. Haritha Aluthge urged that the government take measures to resolve the issues faced by doctors, prior to imposing certain restrictions on them such as the non-approval of foreign leave.

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(Previous News : August 16, 2023 12.36pm)

No leave for specialist doctors to travel overseas

The Health Ministry has decided not to approve leave for doctors in fields with a limited number of specialists, including anaesthesiologists, to go overseas.

Ministry Secretary Janaka Shri Chandragupta said that several areas where there is a severe shortage of doctors in the health service have been identified by now.

If they travel abroad without notifying the ministry, the secretary said that they will be fired followed by necessary further actions.

The number of doctors specialising in certain fields in Sri Lanka is very limited, and the health sector faced several crises as a result of specialist doctors going overseas in recent days.

The Health Secretary said over 600 doctors have gone overseas for specialist training, and 300 of them are due to return this year.

He said the current shortage of experts in some fields will be resolved to some extent once these doctors return.

Meanwhile, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) recently said that 274 specialist doctors have left the country during the one-year period that ended on May 31.

The GMOA said 842 graded medical officers have also left the country during this period.

(Newsradio)