Doctors’ annual transfers not properly implemented after 2013: Nalinda

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera

Colombo, Jan. 22 (Daily Mirror) - The government will implement the annual transfers of doctors from the first week of February, 2026, which has not been implemented properly after 2013, Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said today.

He told Parliament that annual transfers of doctors have not been implemented according to the due procedure after 2013.

The Minister said this while responding to a question raised by National People's Power (NPP) MP Roshan Akmeemana, who said that the non implementation of annual transfers has created a shortage of doctors in rural hospitals and that doctors are not assigned to rural hospitals under annual transfers and that doctors are assigned only as replacements. 

"These doctors assigned as replacements stay only for a year. Doctors should be assigned under annual transfers to work at least for five years in a particular hospital," he said.

The Minister said annual transfers of doctors will be implemented from the first week of February, 2026 with all the pending transfers and added that the shortage of doctors in rural hospitals will be addressed after the implementation of the annual transfers.