Negligence in arranging Aasandha for eight-month-old from Makunudhoo with burn injuries

An incident has emerged where Aasandha was not arranged for an eight-month-old infant who suffered burn injuries in an accident at HDh. Makunudhoo on Tuesday.

The father of the infant has shared the details of the incident with Sun.

In this regard, the father detailed the mother was working in the kitchen at dawn on Tuesday when the infant, who was on a walking cot at that time, came into the kitchen and pulled a cloth placed near a boiling kettle, causing hot water to spill on the infant.

The infant was rushed to Makunudhoo Health Centre within 10 minutes. However, there was no doctor present at the time, and the child was initially treated by a nurse on duty.

The nurse dressed the burn wounds and sent back the family, citing the doctor will be in at 8:00am. Despite the family pleading for the doctor to be contacted immediately, they were uncertain whether any such attempt was made.

The father said they returned with the infant at the instructed time.

The doctor on duty, a Nigerian national specialised in general medicine, removed the dressing but did not thoroughly examine the burns before advising the family to return after 24 hours.

Later that night, the infant began to sweat profusely, prompting the family to remove the dressing themselves. It was then they realized the severity of the burns, which had developed blisters. Alarmed, they returned to the Health Centre, where the doctor reportedly admitted they did not expect the injuries to be that serious and advised the family to transfer the infant to Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital for further treatment.

The father detailed that the family requested Aasandha arrangements for emergency transport, as RTL ferries were not operating at the time. However, the doctor allegedly dismissed the urgency of the situation, saying it was not an emergency and that it would be sufficient for the infant to travel on the next scheduled RTL ferry the following day.

Despite repeated pleas, the family said they were denied access to a sea ambulance, again being told the case did not qualify as an emergency.

Ultimately, the father said he made arrangements to transport the child to Male’ via air taxi through his workplace, Soneva Jani resort, as the family believed the child required urgent medical care.

The father, citing the doctor who examined the infant at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), said the infant required urgent medical care and would have warranted Aasandha support.

The father said the condition of the infant is improving and has been moved to the ward as of present. 

IGMH’s Spokesperson also confirmed they were treating an eight-month-old for burn injuries who has now been moved to the ward.

Makunudhoo Health Centre has yet to comment on the incident.