Brunei
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Health Sector Contribution to Knowledge Economy

The Foreign Placement Coordinating Centre (FPCC) of Sri Lanka was established in 2007, in order to negotiate job opportunities for Sri Lankan doctors overseas.

It has been noted that, with the current output rate of the medical graduates and specialists, Sri Lanka is capable of rendering services of its medical experts to other countries, where such necessity arises. The FPCC is established to facilitate coordination of overseas placements of local doctors, without disrupting smooth functioning of the national health services.

The main objectives of the FPCC are to find placement for  Sri Lankan doctors at the overseas medical institutions in the context of  “knowledge economy”, to conduct  medical expert exchange programs to facilitate international collaboration and research activities, to expose of local medical professional to the advancement of medical science achieved by other nations, to facilitate further post graduate training for Sri Lankan doctors, and to improve image of the country and goodwill with other countries.

FPCC is intended to arrange special overseas leave, cover-up services and other formalities necessary in this programme. This programme will help us to upgrade professional standards of our medical services, ultimate beneficiary of which is the local patient and at the same time to facilitate to the global healthcare.

Local doctors continue to get registered at FPCC and there is a data base of more than 1000 doctors including specialists in all medical specialties who could fill the professional vacancies globally.

The FPCC firmly believe that the Sri Lankan doctors, who have a wide reputation all over the world, would undoubtedly aid to elevate the health standard worldwide.

• To coordinate placement of Sri Lankan medical professionals at centres of excellence around the world.

• To generate much needed foreign currency to Sri Lanka while  uplifting the quality of life of the medical professionals.

• To facilitate a programme of temporary cyclical migration, thereby minimising the “Brain Drain".

• To elevate the health standards of the country in par with the western countries, by acquiring the latest professional expertise through foreign exposure.

• To establish a comprehensive database of Sri Lankan doctors in order to facilitate cyclical migration.

• To facilitate the transition of Sri Lankan labour exportation from unskilled labour to skilled labour.

• To harness the competitiveness of the medical professionals of Sri Lanka by means of value addition through foreign exposure.

• To ensure smooth functioning of the health care system in Sri Lanka.

• To promote research and collaboration at national level and international level to attract research grants to our country.

• To coordinate with the Post graduate Institute of Medicine, Ministry of finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of external affairs and other relevant organisations and make necessary recommendations.

Since inception the Foreign Placement Coordinating Centre has made steady but notable progress and has widened its horizons in order to achieve its objectives. FPCC has initiated dialogs with several countries and is currently in the process of discussing the modalities of implementation with Brunei, Singapore and Libya. FPCC aims into reach potential job markets for doctors in Gulf region and Africa in the future

Many Sri Lankan medical professionals are already employed at a few developed countries which the FPCC could explore as a potential market.

·         Nearly 2000 Sri Lankan doctors work in the United Kingdom accounting for total of 1% of the medical officers in the UK.(General Medical Council)

·         The medical professionals have to undergo licensing medical exams such as the Australian medical council exam (AMC) and Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board(PLAB) to practice medicine in Australia and UK respectively..

Countries approached by FPCC

Potential countries with job opportunities with Sri Lankan Medical Officers already placed

In order to elevate the health standards of Sri Lanka in par with the health standards of the of the developed countries, the state could deploy Sri Lankan Medical Professionals in the potential job markets of the developing countries which requires diplomatic assistance to penetrate into the  skilled labour export market .

 Health indices comparison between United States of America and Sri Lanka
World Health Statistics 2008

Readymade job banks would serve in allowing cyclical migration of doctors to prevent the brain drain. The Job bank could be used in a natural disaster situation to deploy the Sri Lankan doctors at the country of ailment.

Cuba could be taken as one example. Cuba contains a Model to deploy Cuban medical professionals in around the world and a special database to cater the emergency needs such as natural disasters and serious epidemics. Cuba has deployed 344 doctors and other health professionals working full time in Haiti under an agreement with the Haitian government.

These doctors would be the ideal goodwill ambassador and facilitate and strengthen the diplomatic missions harnessing the maximum potential in its endeavours.

Visit Ministry of Health
Sri Lanka

Post Graduate Institute of Medicine Sri Lanka