• Medical staff cadres last revised in 2017

Hospitals in the Northern Province have been waiting nearly 10 years for a revision of their approved medical staff cadres, while the Ministry of Health has stated it cannot appoint additional doctors beyond the existing cadre, it is learnt.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, informed sources in the Province's health service stated the medical officer cadre in the province was last revised in 2017. "Although the Cadre Commission visited all hospitals in December 2025 and agreed to complete the revision in July 2026, it was postponed first to August and then to October. The revision has still not been completed."

They said hospitals were receiving new consultants without a corresponding increase in the approved cadre of medical officers needed to support their services, while patient numbers and demand for treatment were increasing. "Base Hospital Chavakachcheri, for example, previously had 25 medical officers and one consultant. It now has seven consultants, but the approved cadre of medical officers remains at 25. The hospital has an approved cadre of six consultants, although seven have been appointed."

The sources said the Ministry had told them it could not appoint additional doctors beyond the approved cadre when they requested more staff.

They also cited differences in staffing levels across the Province. Base Hospital Point Pedro has 18 consultants and 56 medical officers, while District General Hospital Kilinochchi has 20 consultants and 110 medical officers.

Several hospitals are already operating above their approved medical officer cadres, the sources said. Chavakachcheri has 29 medical officers against an approved cadre of 25, Point Pedro has 56 against 52, and Tellipalai has 68 against 56.

They added that consultants returning after overseas training had to be appointed to hospitals, sometimes without adequate consideration of the existing medical officer cadre. They called for annual cadre revisions to account for changes in hospital services, staffing requirements and patient numbers.

However, Deputy Health Minister Dr Hansaka Wijemuni told The Daily Morning that medical staff shortages were a nationwide problem and that a cadre revision alone would not resolve them. “There is a general shortage across the country. People working in these provinces would know the situation there, but the shortage is a nationwide problem.” 

He said the information required for the cadre revision had been prepared, but additional recruitment was also necessary to address staff shortages. “New recruitment is necessary, and training the recruits takes time. Since we took office, we have recruited staff to the maximum capacity, including nurses, midwives and doctors. However, apart from doctors, it takes time for recruitment to produce results because the other staff need to be trained,” he said.