Social media circles was abuzz with viral posts stating that the ‘1990 Suwa Seriya’ Emergency Ambulance Service would not be operational after 03rd June 2026. Understandably this had created a massive stir both online and among the society.
Social Media Posts:
Fact-Check:
The 1990 Suwa Seriya Emergency Ambulance Service is a free, official government emergency medical service system operating throughout parts of Sri Lanka. Operating 24 hours a day, each ambulance of this ambulance service is staffed by an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and a trained driver, to save a life in an emergency.
Ministry of Health
We have contacted the Ministry of Health to verify the authenticity of the post stating that there is a sign to stop this type of service. They stated that this news is false and that the Suwa Seriya ambulance service will continue to operate.
Suwa Seriya: Ambulance service will not be stopped
We similarly inquired with the Suwa Seriya head office regarding the suspension of the Suwa Seriya service and the protests in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo by Suwa Seriya staff members.
The management confirmed that they cannot take responsibility for the information circulating on social media and that the Suwa Seriya ambulance service will continue to operate. However, they refrained from giving any information about the reasons behind the protests.
The Chairman of the Suwa Seriya Foundation, Major Niroshan Ratnayake (retired), had sent a statement to the media confirming this.
Along with this, all the mainstream media outlets had reported that the news of the exchange of signals about the suspension of the Suwaseriya was false. The Dasatha News Service had also published an explanation about it as follows.
On 04th June 2026 a group of employees representing all districts of the Suwa Seriya Foundation held a protest in front of the Presidential Secretariat, requesting that the government take over the Suwa Seriya Foundation due to the governance issues.
Suwa Seriya Ambulance Service
Before the start of the Suva Sariya, there was no formal free pre-hospital ambulance system in Sri Lanka.
This service was implemented in 2016 following a request from the Government of Sri Lanka based on a proposal made by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the then Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, Dr. Harsha de Silva, for a pre-hospital emergency ambulance service, which Sri Lanka did not have.
The service was first launched on 28 July 2016, based in the Western and Southern Provinces, with 88 TATA ambulances and a control centre, funded by a grant of US$ 7.56 million from the Government of India.
Due to the success of the first phase, the Government of India donated another $15.02 million, and the service was expanded islandwide, covering all 9 provinces, increasing the fleet to 297 ambulances by July 2018.
To ensure the continuity of the service, the Suwa Seriya Foundation Act, 1990, No. 18 of 2018 was passed in Parliament, making it an independent state statutory body operating under the Ministry of Health. Information on this is visible here , can be seen here and is located here.
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Conclusion:
Social media posts stating that the 1990 Suwa Seriya Emergency Ambulance Service would not operate after 8pm 03rd June 2026 are false. This is confirmed by the Suwa Seriya Foundation and the Ministry of Health.
Title: Has the Suwa Sariya emergency ambulance service been suspended? Find out the facts…
Fact Check By: Pavithra Sandamali
Result: False
