Service outages loom with dwindling medical supplies, Muzzu's office says
Firzul said they are now managing services from emergency stock.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
The office of the president-elect has expressed concern that the health ministry has not renewed its stock of medical supplies so far this year and is providing services from emergency stocks.
The transitional committee formed by President-elect Dr Mohmmed Muizzu is visiting various government agencies and offices to examine the progress of their work and the problems there.
President-elect's spokesman Mohamed Firzul Abdullah Haleel told a news conference on Monday that the committee has held meetings with various government agencies.
Firzul said the transitional committees have so far observed that some hospitals and health centres are running out of stock of essential items and are facing difficulties in providing services.
According to Firzul, they are ordered to be restocked twice a year under a certain rule. However, no orders have been placed for stocking them so far this year.
"So far this year, orders have not been placed for medical supplies for the last six months of this year. As a result, we can see that services in hospitals and health centres, which already under the health ministry, are already becoming hindered. What is especially noteworthy is that if the situation continues like this, many of the services at the health care facilities may come to a complete standstill by mid-November," said Firzul.
He expressed concern that laboratory services and other services provided by health care providers could also be disrupted.
Firzul said they are now managing services from emergency stock. So far, the order for stocking has not been placed due to lack of funds within the budget, he said.
Firzul also raised serious concerns about the government's main hospital, IGMH. Some of the specialised centres at the hospital are run in collaboration with various foreign hospitals and companies, two of which have raised these concerns. He named the Centre for Neurological Diseases and the Centre for Heart Diseases at IGMH.
As observed, he said:
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The foreign company that provides services to the two centres has outstanding bills of $5.3 million
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These bills include expenses related to various medical equipment provided by the companies
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There are concerns that the non-payment of these bills could bring their services to a halt
“Another thing that the transitional committee notes regarding the IGMH is that the budget allocated for the IGMH for this year has been allocated for the remainder of this year only to the extent required for the salaries of the staff,” Firzul said.
Due to lack of funds in the budget, many activities related to repairs and machinery have come to a halt, he said.
