Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry is preparing sweeping reforms to regulate private hospitals nationwide, aiming to bring transparency, fair pricing, and accountability to the island’s growing private healthcare sector.
The Ministry of Health has called for an urgent overhaul of Sri Lanka’s private healthcare system following a new report highlighting serious concerns over pricing, service quality, and regulation. The recommendations urge the government to introduce a fair and affordable fee structure for patients while grading all private hospitals and clinics to ensure compliance with national healthcare standards.
According to the report, private medical institutions will be required to follow a standardized system of pricing and performance evaluation, supported by regular audits and monitoring. The proposal also calls for strict enforcement of minimum qualifications for both medical and administrative staff, ensuring that training and certification standards are consistently maintained across all private facilities.
To improve transparency, the Ministry plans to introduce a formal mechanism for handling patient complaints, including a dedicated online platform where the public can report grievances against private hospitals and expect timely responses.
A senior Health Ministry official said that Ministerial attention has now been directed toward tightening oversight and regulation of private healthcare providers, stressing that the reforms are essential to protect patients from exploitation while improving the overall quality of medical services in the country.
