Sri Lanka’s free health system is heading into dangerous territory as doctors accuse the Health Minister of betraying key agreements, triggering escalating trade union action that leaves patients caught in the middle.
The Government Medical Officers Association has announced that it will press ahead with trade union action, accusing Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa of failing to honor commitments made to resolve long-standing issues affecting doctors and the country’s free health service.
In a strongly worded statement, the GMOA warned that the government must take full responsibility for any disruption to hospital services caused by what it described as the arbitrary conduct of the Health Minister and the administration. The association stressed that repeated assurances had not translated into action, deepening uncertainty across the public healthcare system.
Among the key demands outlined by the GMOA are cabinet approval to establish a dedicated “Sri Lanka Medical Service,” revisions to the DAT allowance, solutions to unresolved research allowance issues, and an update to the approved number of doctors through a proper cadre revision. The association is also calling for specialist doctors and medical officers to be formally included under Circular 22/99.
The GMOA confirmed that five trade union actions launched on January 26 will continue. These include refusing to direct patients to private pharmacies or laboratories when services are unavailable in hospitals, withdrawing from politically organized health camps, declining assignments to newly opened wards without approved staffing, and refusing to examine patients unless minimum safety and facility standards are ensured.
In a further escalation, specialist doctors will restrict their duties solely to their appointed hospitals, withdrawing from covering external institutions from 8.00 am on Monday, February 02, 2026.
The association also raised concerns that public hostility toward doctors is being deliberately encouraged, questioning whether the collapse of the system is being used to pave the way for privatizing Sri Lanka’s free health service.
