Health Minister admits negligence involved in death of 10-year-old girl

Health Minister Ahmed Naseem has admitted to negligence of medical respondents in the death a young COVID-19 patient in the Maldivian capital.

Fathimath Mishka, 10, Laajahaage, HDh. Kulhudhuffushi, was quarantined at home with her family in Male’ City after contracting COVID-19 when her condition took a sudden for the worse on Tuesday night. The family said they called for an ambulance at 09:00 pm, but had to wait for over two hours for the ambulance, during which time the young girl became unresponsive.

The ambulance arrived at 11:40 pm, and she was declared at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH)’s ER at 12:10 am on Wednesday, after attempts to revive her failed.

In response to a question by Sun in a press conference by Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) on Wednesday night, Health Minister Naseem said there was a delay in taking Mishka to the hospital.

“There is negligence, yes. There is negligence. I believe the people who attended to it were negligent,” he said.

Naseem said the review into the incident is expected to be completed later this Wednesday, and that the action taken against those responsible will be announced once the review is complete.

As authorities review Mishka’s death, Health Ministry announced earlier this Wednesday that they implemented immediate changes to the policy for deployment of ambulances following the case.

The death is also under investigation by Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM), which has issued a statement stressing that loss of life due to delay in medical intervention is unacceptable.