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Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa says more specialist doctors who have completed training abroad are now choosing to stay in Sri Lanka instead of leaving the country. He made this comment during a visit to the Eravur Hospital in the Eastern Province.  During the visit the Minister had a special discussion with the hospital staff and management to look into the challenges the hospital is facing. "Earlier, many specialist doctors who were sent to remote areas like the North and East after returning from foreign training left the country again. That number was around 70% when we took office. But now, 60 to 70% of them are staying. This is a good sign," the Minister said. He explained that Sri Lanka currently has around 2,000 specialist doctors and that the government is working to make sure all specialists who go abroad for training return to work in local hospitals, even in rural areas.  He said the government will provide all the facilities needed to keep these doctors in the country and solve the shortage quickly. Talking about the Eravur Hospital, which serves over 100,000 people, the Minister said it should be upgraded to a base hospital to meet the needs of the community. Although a new building has been added with better facilities, the biggest problem now is the lack of staff. He said it is harder to fill vacancies than to build hospitals, and promised that the government will update the hospital vacancy lists this year to solve staffing issues.