The Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital, affiliated to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), will function as a government hospital from today, Health Ministry sources said.

The Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital will now offer free healthcare in the same way that other government hospitals do, the sources said.

The government last week announced that Rs. 200 million would be set aside per months for operations at the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital

In April this year the government announced the Health Ministry would take over the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital.

The decision came in the wake of continued protests by local university students, political parties and trade unions, seeking the closure of SAITM.

On July 17, the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital was formally handed over to the government after talks with both parties.