A complaint has been filed with the Committee on Social Affairs of the People’s Majlis, requesting a review of a case in which IGMH, the main government hospital, allegedly failed to conduct a blood test due to missing essential supplies.

In a letter to Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s MP for Maavah constituency Ahmed Shakir, stated that the IGMH laboratory had informed that required tests could not be performed on an 18-year-old child suffering from a mental illness.

According to the letter, the laboratory informed that the tests could not be conducted at the moment they went to draw blood, after the patient had taken a queue number, waited among more than 200 people, and confirmed beforehand that the necessary tests would be available before beginning treatment.

The letter further highlighted that the IGMH laboratory currently lacks the reagents needed for Lithium tests, and that petri dishes and an important medicine used to thin blood for stroke patients (anticoagulants/antiplatelets) are also unavailable in the Maldives. These medicines are critical for individuals requiring blood-thinning treatments.

Shakir wrote that such shortages add to the distress of many citizens already struggling due to the lack of essential medicines.

When RaajjeMV contacted an IGMH media official regarding this issue, the official said they were unaware of the problem and that matters concerning the laboratory are not known to the hospital’s media department.

A reliable source informed RaajjeMV that petri dishes have been sourced from ADK Hospital for the past two weeks because they remain unavailable at IGMH. A petri dish is used in microbiology to culture microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.

The public continues to complain frequently about shortages of essential medicines and supplies at the main government hospital. IGMH has yet to issue an official statement on the matter.