The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) says that delays and irregularities in the annual transfer process for doctors and the placement of post-intern medical officers have created a risk of disruption to services at peripheral hospitals and primary healthcare units.
The GMOA said in a statement that a systematic transfer process is essential to maintaining Sri Lanka’s medical service as a nationwide service.
It further emphasizes that the annual transfer process for medical officers, which is conducted every four years on a merit-based system, is crucial to ensuring the uninterrupted provision of medical services throughout the country, including at difficult-to-staff and peripheral hospitals.
The Association also states that decisions regarding the placement of post-intern medical officers are made through transfer boards, taking into account service requirements and the needs of individual institutions.
However, it alleges that the process has now fallen into crisis due to inefficient and arbitrary actions by the relevant authorities within the Ministry of Health.
The Association further alleges that, despite the Establishments Code and the procedural rules of the Public Service Commission recognizing the involvement of transfer boards in doctors’ transfers and the placement of post-intern medical officers, the irresponsible and arbitrary conduct of the Director of Medical Services has resulted in delays in placing post-intern medical officers.
It also states that the annual transfer process for doctors has become disorganized and inefficient. As a result, there is a risk that services at peripheral hospitals, including primary healthcare units, could be disrupted.
The GMOA stated that this situation has also prevented doctors who are expecting annual transfers from having their transfers implemented.
It further points out that, in certain instances, transfers have been carried out without adequately considering service requirements and institutional needs, thereby creating difficulties in the delivery of healthcare services.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association added that the inefficient, irregular, and arbitrary procedures followed by the Director of Medical Services have plunged the transfer process into a crisis and disrupted patient care services. It stresses that immediate action must be taken to rectify the situation and restore the proper functioning of the transfer process.