Cabinet approves Air Force management of Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital
Photo: nfth.lk
The Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved a new management framework for the Dr. Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital, placing its management under the Sri Lanka Air Force while transferring its ownership and assets to a company fully owned by the General Treasury.
Under the approved framework, the Treasury will hold 100% of the shares in the proposed company, while the Sri Lanka Air Force will be responsible for managing the hospital.
The hospital will provide both inpatient and outpatient treatment services to the public. Services will be offered both free of charge and on a fee-paying basis.
The Secretary to the Treasury will appoint an 11-member Board of Directors to the proposed company based on the recommendation of the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.
The General Treasury will provide funding for staff salaries and operational expenses of the company from 2026 to 2028. After that period, the hospital is expected to operate as a self-financing institution.
For healthcare services provided free of charge, medicines, medical supplies and other consumable items worth an estimated Rs. 125 million will be supplied to the hospital annually through funds allocated to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media.
The new governance and financial framework was jointly proposed by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, and the Sri Lanka Air Force.
The Cabinet approved a joint proposal submitted by the President in his capacity as Minister of Defence and the Minister of Health and Mass Media to implement the framework.
The administration of the Dr. Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital was transferred to the Ministry in charge of Health with effect from August 1, 2017, following a Cabinet decision taken on June 27, 2017. The 2017 Cabinet decision included plans for the hospital to provide free healthcare services to the public.
Later, at the Cabinet meeting held on February 9, 2026, approval was granted to manage the hospital under the Sri Lanka Air Force through a hybrid operating model and to operate it under a state-owned enterprise incorporated under the Companies Act.