Mr. Speaker

¶ 01 I think it will take a lot of time because there are two pages.

¶ 02 IMPACT ON HEALTHCARE SERVICES IN MANNAR AND CHAVAKACHCHERI DUE TO SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL CONSULTANTS

¶ 03 Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

¶ 04 Under Standing Order 27(2), I raise this question to the Hon. Minister of Health, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.

¶ 05 At the Chavakachcheri Base Hospital, Dr. Kasthuri Thanakaraja, who has been serving as Acting Consultant Paediatrician, received approval in 2022 for a transfer under Circular No. 1158. In 2024, while I was the Director of that hospital, based on a letter from the Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena, I effected her transfer. Her sibling is a member of the GMOA’s Consultants’ Transfer Board in the Northern Province, which has now become a problem for the Government. Because of this, neither the 2022 approval letter nor my 2024 letter resulted in implementing her transfer. Even now, in 2025, a letter from the Director-General of Health Services has been sent to the Chavakachcheri Hospital, but the transfer has still not been carried out.

¶ 06 She has virtually avoided reporting to the hospital for almost two years. Her transfer is to the Mannar Hospital. As a result, not only the people in Chavakachcheri but also the people in Mannar are affected. Currently, there is no Consultant Paediatrician at the Mannar Hospital. I kindly request the Hon. Minister of Health to take steps to implement this transfer. I have sent you all three letters.