The President-Elect's office on Monday raised fears of health services coming to a halt in mid-November due to the Health Ministry's failure to renew stocks of medical consumables so far this year.
Briefing the press in Maafannu Dhimyaath, Spokesman Mohamed Firuzul said disposable items such as chemicals and syringes used at health centers and laboratories need to be ordered regularly to maintain stocks.
Orders must be made twice a year for restocking but the Health Ministry has not placed any orders this year, he said.
"As a result, we are noticing that the services of hospitals and health centers operated under the Health Ministry are coming to a halt even now. And what we're noting especially is that if the situation persists, it is likely that a lot of services at health centers could come to a stop entirely by the middle of November," Firuzul said.
Hospitals and health centers are presently using supplies from emergency stocks to provide services, according to Firuzul. Orders have not been placed so far due to the failure to arrange funding, he said.
Aside from funds for paying salaries for staff, no other financing has been provided to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital for the rest of the year, Firuzul said.
As a consequence, the hospital is facing difficulties in making repairs and using some facilities, he said, citing information gathered by the President-Elect's office.
IGMH's cardiac center owes USD 5.3 million in unpaid bills for services provided by a foreign company, Firuzul revealed.
"We are concerned that the services of these centers could also stop as a result of not paying these bills," he said.
