• Government to recruit 600 nurses in next 3 months 
• Flags shortcomings in health-equipment maintenance 

There are 33 primary hospitals in the Northern Province operating without even a single nurse, said Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.

Speaking at a function to open the Nagadeepa Hospital, the Health Minister said that such hospitals must be given special attention and developed into secondary and tertiary hospitals over time.

He stated that the Government is planning to recruit 300 new nurses within the next two months, and another 300 nurses will be released in the following month. He said the existing shortage in the Northern Province will be addressed with these newly deployed nurses. “I was shocked to learn that there are 33 primary hospitals in the Northern Province operating without a single nurse. We will address this issue with the new set of recruitments. Our intention is to develop these primary healthcare hospitals to the level of secondary and tertiary hospitals over time,” he said.

He also noted that there are shortcomings within the health authorities in maintaining high-end medical equipment such as CT scanners and ambulances. Therefore, he said a system will be initiated to maintain this equipment in collaboration with maintenance agencies.

However, many parties, including several trade unions, as reported in the media recently, have raised concerns over the Government’s recruitment policy, particularly in relation to supplementary health services arguing that there is a lack of transparency and long-term planning in the recruitment process, which has led to persistent shortages and inefficiencies across the healthcare sector.