436 Health Service Assistants receive appointments as minister says recruitment was free of political influence

A total of 436 newly recruited Health Service Assistants (SKS) received appointment letters at a ceremony this morning (11) at the Tower Hall premises in Maradana, held under the patronage of Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.

The recruitment is intended to strengthen the human resources of Sri Lanka’s free healthcare system and to ensure efficient, quality and reliable healthcare services for patients.

Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Jayatissa said the Government’s policy was to recruit people to the public service on the basis of qualifications and merit, without political influence. He said political interference could easily occur in recruitment to Health Service Assistant posts, but the appointments had been made through a formal and transparent process that did not allow such interference.

After the new Government was formed, the Ministry of Finance approved the recruitment of 1,989 Health Service Assistants. Appointments were issued in three phases: 627 recruits on July 4, 600 on July 18 and 762 on August 1. Nearly 92,000 applications were received. Applicants were evaluated through a systematic assessment and marking process, and qualified candidates also faced structured interviews so that selection was based on merit and qualifications.

Speaking to the new officers, the minister said they had become members of the healthcare workforce, which comprises nearly 150,000 personnel. He said the healthcare system depended on the collective contribution and responsibility of every employee, from the Ministry Secretary to staff serving in hospitals, and that failure in one area could affect the continuous delivery of quality healthcare services expected by the public.

Dr. Jayatissa said all healthcare workers, including Health Service Assistants, had a responsibility to welcome patients with dignity and provide them with the necessary care and assistance. He urged the recruits to fulfil their duties with dedication, saying the quality of services provided by every professional played an important role in maintaining public trust in the healthcare system.

He commended ministry officials for their efforts to fill existing vacancies in the health sector and expressed confidence that a significant number of pending recruitments would be completed before the end of this year.

The minister said the newly appointed personnel also had a responsibility to change negative public perceptions of the public service. Building public confidence, he said, was not solely the responsibility of senior officials but depended on how every public servant performed their duties, interacted with the public and demonstrated commitment to service.

A special three-day training programme will be conducted for the newly appointed Health Service Assistants. After completing the training, they are required to report for duty at their respective hospitals.

Also present were Additional Secretaries to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media Janaka Kithsiri Gunawardena, Harshani Sitinamas and K. P. Yogachandra; Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena; Deputy Directors General, directors, ministry officials, trade union representatives and parents of the appointees.