Malé, Maldives – Maldives Ministry of Health informs that the case review was triggered on 2 June 2021 regarding a delay in deploying an ambulance in response to an emergency call received on 31 May.
In light of this incident, immediate changes have been implemented by the Ministry to the mechanism that triggers ambulance deployment.
According to the family of the deceased, the 10 year old girl child had tested positive for the virus a few days back and the symptoms worsened in the past two days. The girl had passed away after being taken to IGMH emergency room following breathlessness.
According to sources, she was unconscious when she was taken to the ER after the ambulance reached the girls home after more than 2 hours 25 minutes since they had called.
In the meantime, the public is sharing their concern of ambulance delays in the islands and in Malé.
Earlier in May 2021, an ambulance took 1 hour 20 minutes to arrive for someone who collapsed in quarantine. While the Addu Emergency Operations Center were on top of the situation, according to the family they simply did not have the resources. Another incident took place in Malé where it took 4 hours for an ambulance to collect a Covid-19 positive patient who had collapsed in isolation.
The Covid-19 situation has deteriorated rapidly in the Maldives in the past month with the virus spreading to all parts of the country and death rates increasing exponentially.
Doctors are warning that Maldives that Covid-19 is out of control in the country, and the healthcare workers are stretched to their limits.
With the active health facilities in the country overburdened with Covid-19 patients, the non-Covid-19 treatments are threatened to be hampered. Medical professionals have repeatedly stressed the threat of medical facilities being overburdened to the point that they have to choose patients to treat depending on who is sicker.
While the country is currently going through one of the worst waves that has hit the country in terms of the pandemic, currently there are 204 patients receiving hospitalized care for the virus throughout the country. With majority of the hospitalized patients being in the capital, experts continuously reiterate the importance of taking preventive steps against Covid-19, such as maintaining adequate physical distancing, wearing masks and practicing hand hygiene.
