President pledges additional facility, Parliament accepts motion to review challenges at HMF
The motion was accepted by the People's Majlis through the majority vote of 35 MPs
Hulhumale' Medical Facilty, where 116 nurses are working to care for Covid-19 patients
Member of parliament for Naifaru constituency Ahmed Shiyam has submitted a motion to the People's Majlis, calling for a review of health care services being provided from the Hulhumale' Medical Facility, from where a majority of Covid-19 deaths are being reported in recent weeks.
MP Ahmed Shiyam submitted the motion at Wednesday's sitting of parliament, where 35 MPs voted in favor of the motion while five members voted against it. Eight members of parliament abstained from voting on the motion,
In submitting the motion, MP Ahmed Shiyam stated that while the number of Covid-19 fatalities reported in the Maldives were at an all-time high, majority of the deaths from Covid-19 in the past two weeks had been reported from Hulhumale' Medical Facility.
MP Shiyam stated that over 50 people had died due to Covid-19 in Maldives over the past 22 days, and that unlike before, the fatalities now included a number of young people between the ages of 35 and 50. MP Shiyam also highlighted that majority of the fatalities were being reported from the Hulhumale' Medical Facility, where a call for volunteers is also now open due to a shortage of health workers and caretakers.
In submitting the motion to parliament, MP for Naifaru constituency Ahmed Shiyam acknowledged the invaluable efforts of doctors, nurses and health workers on the frontlines in battling Covid-19. The motion requires the People's Majlis to oversee the current situation at Hulhumale' Medical Facility, and to have a relevant parliament committee analyze what immediate steps can be taken by the state in order to improve conditions at Hulhumale' Medical Facility.
During a press conference held on Tuesday night regarding the state of the pandemic in Maldives, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih noted that there were only 116 nurses at the Hulhumale' Medical Facility. President Solih unveiled plans to have an additional Covid Management Facility with 270 beds in Hulhumale' amid the presser, with Health Minister Ahmed Naseem confirming that the government was working to hire foreign doctors and nurses this June in order to relieve overburdened health workers managing the pandemic in Maldives at this time.
