The designated staff of the public health unit of the General (Teaching) Hospital-Peradeniya is presently led by two Medical Officers of public health and consists of four nursing officers of the hospital infection control unit (ICNO), the hospital public health inspector (PHI), an anti-malaria campaign officer. Non-designated staff includes a development officer and supporting staff.

Medical Officers of public health are involved in reviewing all maternal, perinatal, dengue and leptospirosis deaths and other special deaths, such as deaths due to anaphylaxis, with the view of minimizing future such deaths, screening the staff for non-communicable diseases, facilitating injury surveillance, conducting special immunization campaigns, referring needlestick injury cases and sending certain statistics and reports to the Ministry of Health. A development officer helps with documentation work. ICNOs are involved in surveillance and notification of important infectious disease cases, hand hygiene promotion and auditing, immunization of the hospital workers and sending certain statistics to the Ministry of Health. The PHI is involved in notifiable infection notification and supervision of food supply at hospital premises. He, in collaboration with the anti-malaria campaign officer and a supporting staff, performs dengue preventive work at the hospital premises.

The whole public health team contributes to the monthly infection control meeting of the hospital, hygienically disposing of clinical and other hospital waste, and educating medical students, midwifery students etc. The staff of the public health unit works in close collaboration with the hospital quality management unit (QMU), the planning and health information and research unit (HIRU), and the microbiology, obstetrics and neonatology units.