Sri Lanka short of 630 medical specialists this year

State sector peripheral hospitals in grave danger and patients in jeopardy

Numbers do not lie and these numbers tell a tale of the dire straits the men, women and children of Sri Lanka are in, when considering the state health sector.

There is a chilling shortfall of 630 Consultants among 61 specialties when looking at the requirements of this year (2024). According to data the Sunday Times has: In 2023, the total number of board-certified (certified by the Post-graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) Consultants were – 285 (all categories)

The number of non-clinical Consultants & Dental Consultants – 50

Clinical Consultants (medical specialists treating or managing patients in state hospitals – 235

For 61 specialties, those working currently are – 1,909

The vacant posts in the 2024 Annual Transfer List – 799

Board-certified Consultants in 2023 – 236 New board-certified Consultants available for 2024 Annual Transfer List – 169 Therefore, the shortfall is – 630 Consultants

The Sunday Times turns the searchlight on the severe dearth of medical specialists in many specialties (See graphic) with experts alleging that there is still no proper plan on how to meet this contingency. This situation has been highlighted by the Sunday Times over and over again.

The city hospitals will go on, with temporary plasters being applied here and there but the peripheries are in grave danger, reiterated a senior doctor, pointing out that the “sufferers” are the poverty-stricken masses of the country.

“It is a double whammy for the people who are also barely managing to survive due to the massive economic blows faced by them from their static or no incomes but skyrocketing prices,” another pointed out.

Others looked at the pathetic plight with regard to certain specialties, citing the examples of many fields in paediatrics (child health); anaesthesia; dermatology; ear, nose and throat health (ENT surgeons); endocrinology; ophthalmology (eye); neurology; obstetrics & gynaecology; oncology; different categories of physicians; rheumatologists; and different categories of surgeons.

The mental health sector is badly affected due to a major dearth of psychiatrists, pointed out an expert, adding that radiology (where imaging technology such as X-rays and scans are utilised to diagnose and treat disease) and histopathology (study of diseases of the tissues) are also victims of a shortfall of specialists.