Faxy’s Hijama shut down over unlicensed service

Authorities have shut down Faxy’s Hijama Therapy – a clinic in Hulhumale’ – for providing unlicensed hijama or cupping services.

Faxy’s Hijama Therapy is owned by Fazeela Usman. According to the Health Ministry, it repeatedly warned Fazeela to register with the ministry to provide hijama services. The Health Ministry requested the police to investigate and shut down the clinic on Sunday.

In a statement on Tuesday, a police spokesperson said that the police had looked into the clinic at the ministry’s request, and served a notice to the clinic’s owner to obtain necessary permits for hijama services and shut down the clinic until she receives the necessary approval.

The spokesperson added that the clinic’s owner is cooperating with the police investigation.

Fazeela was not immediately available for comment. However, she apologized to her customers for the disruption in the clinic’s services in a post on Facebook on Monday.

“Services will resume as soon as I get permits from the Health Ministry,” she wrote on her clinic’s Facebook page.

“I offer sincere apologies to customers for the inconvenience this disruption of services may cause. I am working on getting the necessary permits to run this clinic.”

In its September 11 statement, the Health Ministry said it also instructed Fazeela to take down the advertisements posted on social media promoting medical services under ‘Faxy’s Hijama Therapy’ as it cannot be done without the ministry’s permission.

As patients’ medical records can only be publicized with the permission of the patients, the ministry also instructed to remove such reports publicized on social media while also stressing the information on the reports cannot be verified as the most correct or safe.

The ministry warned Fazeela it will take legal action if she continues to operate the clinic.

She had been issued similar warnings backing in 2019.