The Ministry of Health has handed appointments to 582 Health Care Assistants (HCA) as part of a drive to strengthen primary health services in government hospitals in the Colombo and Gampaha districts.
The appointments were made on Saturday and mark the second batch to be recruited since the programme was launched, the ministry said in a statement. An earlier group of 627 assistants had already received appointments. According to the ministry, nearly 89,000 of some 92,000 applicants were found eligible for selection.
Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa told the new recruits at a ceremony at Tower Hall that all appointments had been made without political interference, adding that the era of ministers and MPs playing a direct role in recruitment was over.
The minister said around 1,400 workers across six categories were due to receive appointments on 1 August. He added that interviews would be held to recruit 127 radiologists and 167 pharmacists, while 133 dispensers and 1,113 public health midwives were also set to be appointed in the near future.
Jayatissa said preparations were under way to select candidates for nursing schools, where about 8,000 people are currently undergoing training. The recruitment forms part of a wider government effort to expand the healthcare workforce and improve service delivery across the country.
