Malé, Maldives – Maldives Police Service on Tuesday, has received important information for their investigation into the death of the 10 year old girl following several instances of negligence from the responsible health authorities.
Giving information to local news outlet Avas, Quality Assurance Commissioner at the Health Ministry Thasleema Usman said that the information shared with the police on the death of the 10 year old includes vital points noted by the Ministry in their investigation. However, they have not addressed the ones at fault in the case.
According to the family of the deceased, the 10 year old girl child had tested positive for Covid-19 virus a few days before her death and the symptoms worsened in two days prior her death. 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 the family had called for assistance.
Speaking at a press conference, following the public criticism and pressure from the general public, Minister Naseem stated that they had identified negligence of the ambulance service and those who attended the case and that the investigation would be over soon.
Minister Naseem also added that all the information from the investigation of the case other than the medical information would be released after the investigation is completed. Health Ministry had earlier told that in light of this incident, immediate changes were implemented by the Ministry to the mechanism that triggers ambulance deployment
The Health Ministry investigated the matter and published a report following allegations from the family of the deceased that her death was due to irresponsibility from relevant authorities. The Ministry stated in their report that the parents called the call centre to take their child to the hospital when her condition started worsening, however, the ambulance was not activated by the authorities.
The Ministry detailed in their report that the situation was not considered a medical emergency whereas it should have been and that the ambulance had not been triggered at the necessary moment. The report also stated that the ambulance was activated 2 hours 26 minutes after the situation was noted as an emergency.
