Aiming to deliver higher‑quality, more efficient primary health services nationwide, the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, on Saturday (26), briefed Public Health Nursing Officers (PHNOs) on the proposed Primary Care Community Centre (PCCC) project, which will cover the entire country. Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa chaired the session at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute auditorium.

The Ministry’s Primary Healthcare Unit organised the training session.

Under the programme, the Government will establish one PCCC for roughly 10,000 people. In the first phase, it plans to set up 2,000 centres across the island over the next three years. The Ministry plans to establish 100 centres within this year. Each centre will initially operate with an eight‑member staff.

Addressing the workshop, the Minister said the initiative is essential to lift the standards of the country’s health services. He noted that, to date, policymakers have focused largely on secondary and tertiary hospital development, and that politics once favoured building multi‑storey hospital blocks over strengthening primary care. He stressed that Sri Lanka must move beyond that approach and, over the next three years, implement this new programme.

The Minister added that politicians in the past sought to bring large hospitals to their constituencies and push those facilities up the grading ladder. He said the present Government will not upgrade hospitals to satisfy political demands; it will prioritise public needs and take decisions based on national requirements. He emphasised that qualitative and quantitative transformation must be citizen‑centred rather than institution‑centred.

He observed that, although the Ministry implemented various projects over the past eight years to improve primary care, those efforts fell short because they were run through institutions that served overly large populations, undermining impact. He said the new model will assign each centre to a defined population and that funding will come from the Treasury, international organisations and private donors. Sri Lanka requires about 2,000 primary care units, he said, and the Government will deliver them within three years, choosing locations that the public already frequents and finds accessible.

The Minister expressed confidence that the programme will become a major transformation and a strong foundation for the health system. He said its success will depend more on human resources than on physical assets and technology. Highlighting the ageing population, rising mental‑health needs and increasing suicides, he said health staff must manage these challenges proactively. He added that directing the public to seek primary treatment at these centres will reduce congestion at secondary and tertiary hospitals.

The Minister said the Government will prioritise PHNOs and provide facilities in stages. He pledged swift solutions to other service issues and, to address transport constraints, said the Ministry will provide motorcycles within the first three months of next year along with a transport allowance.

The centres will deliver a wide range of primary services, including: non‑communicable disease care; basic surgical care; elder care; rehabilitation; palliative care; primary eye care; oral health; mental‑health services; nutrition services; substance and alcohol rehabilitation; adolescent and youth health; selected laboratory tests; and community empowerment programmes.

More than 200 PHNOs attached to District Health Services Directorates attended the workshop. They briefed the Minister on challenges faced in field duties, human‑resource development, implementation of training programmes, shortcomings in promotion procedures, pay and allowances, the need to upgrade technical services, transport issues and improving job satisfaction.

Deputy Directors‑General Dr. Champika Wickramasinghe and Dr. Arjuna Tilakaratne, and Director (Primary Health) Dr. Sarathchandra Kumarawansa were also present.