Health Ministry probes medical negligence in infant's treatment
The child was taken to the doctor five times in the last three weeks for high fever; every time they say it's a normal and send them home without any testing.
By
Shahudha Mohamed
The Health Ministry is investigating a case of alleged negligence in treating an eight-month-old baby infected with dengue at Haa Dhaalu Kulhudhuffushi Hospital.
The hospital's alleged negligence in treating the child came to light after a post on Facebook by the family began circulating on Wednesday.
In the post, the child's sister said:
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The child was taken to the doctor five times in the last three weeks for high fever; every time they say it's normal and sent them home
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The child was finally tested for dengue and was found to be positive after much pleading from the family
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The child was in critical condition by then, due to the prolonged and untreated infection, fever, dehydration and other problems
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The child was then treated in the ICU of Kulhudhuffushi Hospital; however, the family alleges that the child was not properly treated even in the ICU
"The doctors and nurses who neglected these matters should be punished. I ask the CEO in charge of the hospital to look into this," the family said.
"We don't want things like this to happen again. The quality of this hospital where people from the three provinces get treatment should be better than this. You should be ashamed to call it a regional hospital”.
When asked about the matter, Health Ministry media officer Fathimath Shooba said the issue has been brought to the attention of the ministry.
“The matter is being investigated,” she said.
However, she did not give any further details citing an ongoing case.
"We have started an internal review now. We are also conducting an external review in collaboration with a committee of the Health Ministry," Kulhudhuffushi Hospital media officer Mohammed Moosa told Atoll Times.
He added that the child was transferred to the main state hospital IGMH in Male on Monday for further treatment, as the infant’s condition was critical.
IGMH's media officer confirmed that the child has been transferred to IGMH. She added that the child is currently being treated in the ICU at IGMH.
