The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa - Minister of Health and Mass Media

¶ 01 Hon. Member, regarding your last point, you informed me privately as well. The PDHS holds the relevant authority, and it must be exercised properly; I have instructed the Secretary accordingly. On transfers generally: to implement a policy properly, the chain must move—if one release is stopped for any reason, the whole chain collapses. Some hospitals face difficulties during movement, but there are cases pending since 2016–2017. I requested specialists and heads of institutions to bear with temporary inconvenience so the process can proceed, after which new officers can be posted. There are also a few attempting to retain posts by citing various reasons; we will not allow that. A recent issue at Dehiattakandiya Base Hospital arose after a long-staying officer (since 2007) was finally transferred. We will implement annual transfers meaningfully this year to reduce the backlog.