The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa - Minister of Health and Mass Media and Chief Government Whip
The Minister responded to questions on the 1990 Suwa Seriya ambulance service, stating that eight ambulances are assigned to the relevant area, none are out of service due to staff shortages, and two are under minor repair at DIMO Batticaloa. He said no complaints have been received and that the fully digital service operates 24 hours across all Divisional Secretary Divisions. He also stated that the Government plans to expand the fleet to 500 ambulances with support from India and the Asian Development Bank, broaden EMT training to additional universities, and expand coverage from 272 to 400 police station areas by late 2027.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, the answer is as follows:
¶ 02 (a) (i) Yes. (ii) 8. (iii) No ambulances are non-operational due to staff shortages; currently 2 ambulances have been sent to DIMO Batticaloa branch for minor repairs. (iv) The 1990 Suwa Seriya provides 24-hour service across all Divisional Secretary Divisions.
¶ 03 (b) (i) No such complaints have been received to date. (ii) Not applicable. (iii) Yes. Operations of 1990 Suwa Seriya are fully digital, enabling faster and more efficient service to the public.
¶ 04 (c) (i) No. (ii) Not applicable. (iii) Yes. Plans are underway to expand the ambulance fleet up to 500, with necessary arrangements being made with the Government of India and the Asian Development Bank. As I have stated previously in Parliament, recruitments and training have been facilitated. The EMT training course now conducted by the Faculty of Medicine, Ragama (affiliated to University of Kelaniya), is planned to be conducted also at the Universities of Colombo, Sri Jayewardenepura and Jaffna, Hon. Harsha de Silva. Discussions with the relevant institutions have been held. The service currently covers 272 police station areas islandwide and is planned to expand to 400 by late 2027 for broader, more efficient service.
¶ 05 (d) Does not arise.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 6 January 2026 ·No. 23111 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa - Minister of Health and Mass Media and Chief Government Whip. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 6 January 2026. No. 23111. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/17573