IGMH chief acknowledges shortage, says lab equipment will arrive on Monday

Ibrahim Abdul Razzaq Haleem, the CEO of the Male’ Group of Hospitals, has acknowledged that the laboratory at the main government hospital Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has run out of equipment it needs to run a specific type of blood test, but said a new shipment scheduled to arrive on Monday will resolve the situation.

In a letter addressed to Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla on Saturday, Maavah MP Ahmed Shakir that he recently became aware of a case involving an 18-year-old mental health patient who was turned away by the IGMH laboratory when he went there to get blood tests done before beginning crucial treatment.

According to Shakir, the teenager had made sure the tests were available from IGMH, booked an appointment with the laboratory, and waited in a queue of some 200 other patients before being told they were unable to run the tests because the laboratory did not have some of the equipment they needed to run the tests.

Shakir alleged that the IGMH’s laboratory is currently short of reagents to run lithium tests, as well as petri dishes.

When asked about this, Haleem told Sun that while the IGMH usually schedules shipments in time to avoid any potential shortage, there has been a holdup on the supplier’s side.

He said that the IGMH had originally been supposed to receive the equipment it needs to run the specific test on Saturday, but now expects to receive it on Monday.

“The shipment was scheduled to arrive yesterday. But the shipment got delayed from the supplier’s side. It is now expected to arrive tomorrow evening,” said Haleem.

Haleem said that they are working on expediting the shipment.

He added that there was no disruption to any other routine blood testing services.

In his letter, Shakir also said that the Maldives has also run out of medicine needed for blood transfusions to stroke patients.

The request for a parliamentary inquiry into the alleged shortage of essential medical equipment at the country’s main government hospital comes after the Parliament last week rejected an emergency motion submitted by the MDP expressing concern that a shortage of essential medicine was endangering the lives of people with chronic illnesses.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu had established a new state-owned company in September named the State Pharmaceutical and Medical Supply Corporation, with the primary objective of strengthening the supply and procurement of medicines, medical consumables, and equipment across the country.

However, complaints over lack of availability of certain medicine continues.

The corporation’s managing director Dr. Shah Mahir told Sun in a previous interview that it would take around three months to transfer work from State Trading Organization (STO) and set up operations.