All expatriate staff working in Thaa Atoll Hospital on the island of Veymandoo in Thaa Atoll have resigned following a strike over visa and financial issues with the Health Corporation.
Assistant Manager and spokesperson for Thaa Atoll Hospital, Midhath Naseer, told Minivan News that the hospital’s doctors had submitted their resignations, which were accepted on Sunday.
“On Sunday there was no doctor at the hospital, but the next day at 12:00pm we replaced all the doctors by bringing them in from Laamu Atoll and nearby islands. They have started working and the hospital is fully functioning,’’ Midhath said. “We arranged it so that any patient with a critical condition could receive services.”
Midhath said the major issue was that the expat doctors’ visas were not renewed before they expired, which made it difficult for them to return to their home countries in urgent cases.
‘’One of the doctors apologised to us and withdrew the resignation,’’ he said, adding that the doctor had now rejoined Thaa Atoll Hospital.
He said the expat doctors and nurses who resigned had also complained about being included in the pension scheme, which lowered their wages.
Atoll Councilor Abdulla Shareef told Minvan News that the resigned doctors and nurses were still on the island and that he did not know when they would depart.
‘’They met us recently, but since the Health Corporation has accused the Atoll Council of politicising this issue after we met with them, we are not involved in this anymore,’’ Shareef said. ‘’But the council thinks that we being the Atoll Councilors have the authority to meet with them anytime they request.’’
Shareef said that he did not have any official information about the resignations.
The doctors and nursing staff working at the hospital – which is almost entirely staffed by expatriates – declared themselves on strike on Sunday, and met with the atoll council to discuss their issues.
Haveeru reported that head of the Atoll Council, Shareef, had told the paper that the Health Corporation was counting staff as having used their vacation days despite staff waiting in the Maldives for their visas to be renewed.
Doctors and nurses told the council that in some cases their vacation days were all but spent by the time they actually reached their home country.
Shareef also told the paper that the hospital was using expired medicines imported during 2004 tsunami, and that doctors were being blamed for not having enough medicine in the hospital.
Meanwhile, an Indian gynecologist working at the Hoarafushi Health Centre in Haa Alifu Atoll has declared that she will “never come back to the Maldives” after two masked islanders attacked and gagged her on Monday night.
“They broke in to my room with their faces covered, holding knives, and they tried to attack me,” the doctor told Minivan News yesterday. “I could only see their eyes. It was like the worst nightmare I have ever seen.”
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Let this barbaric community suffer. They do not deserve help from physicians and expatriate workers.
very good.
Welcome to NEW Maldives.
because of 2 all should not suffer
Atoll Councillor should meet the Health Corporation not individual staff! The Councillor obviously is playing politics!
All the doctors and nurses working in Maldives wants to resign in support of dr deepali and the fate of Thaa doctors but they are waiting because they have paid a huge amount to the agents to come to Maldives. they are coming to Maldives because there is lot of corruption in India . All Indians hope after ANNA MOVEMENT corruption will end They can go back and SERVE Indian PARADISE.
Expatriate or not no one will work under the conditions described above. In summary the status of the health sector as described in the above article are as follows;
- Mismanagement due to lack of experience at the strategic management level. A professional gloss candy coats everything so it would be better to rephrase this statement as 'political and arbitrary appointments made to Health Corporation boards threatens the health sector today".
- Professionals are at risk of physical and sexual abuse from individuals whose motives are as yet unclear.
- Wages are unsatisfactory and wage issues have proven hard to resolve through discussions between staff and management.
The government will still insist that such happenings occur not because of the incompetence of the Health Ministry but someone else.
THE ISSUES AT THA ATOLL HOSPITAL ARE GENUINE , AND THEIR CORPORATION HR MD IBRAHIM RASHEED ACCEPTED ALSO. HE MADE PROMISE TO SOLVE THE ISSUES ON OR BEFORE 24/08/11 10AM. BUT THE ILL MANNERED ACTING MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SOUTH CENTRAL CORPORATION MR:MOHAMED ZAHIR WAS NOT WILLING TO SOLVE. HE ALWAYS TRIED TO ADD FUEL TO THE FIRE, BY ABUSING EVEN TO AN ANAESTHETIST, TRIED TO PHYSICAL ATTACK TO THE PROTESTORS INCLUDING DOCTORS, WHO WERE FOR THE JUSTICE. AT LAST TRIED TO SPLIT THE PROTESTORS BY GIVING UNBELIEVABLE OFFERS ALSO. IN THE LAST MOMENT ONE DOCTOR RESUMED DUTY BECAUSE THERE WAS LIFETHREAT TO HIM, HIS WIFE AND TWO KIDS WHO ARE STAYING WITH HIM. JUST KEEP IT IN MIND THAT "UNLESS THE AUTHORITIES SOLVE THE ISSUES WE ALL STAFFS WILL GO FOR MASS RESIGNATION" DOESN'T MEAN WE ALL THE STAFFS RESIGNED. BUT THE ILLITERATE ACTING MANAGING DIRECTOR UNFORTUNATELY UNDERSTOOD THAT WE ARE RESIGNED OR HE DON'T WANT RUN THAT HOSPITAL PROPERLY. DEAR MALDIVES PLEASE REACT , FIGHT AGAINST INJUSTICE
but i recently read here that there were no issues worth investigating regarding ex-pat complaints............. maybe someone was wrong???? .......j
jone: i am truly sorry to read of any injustice but not surprised. Most issues are just 'tips of the ice-bergs' and when legitimate complaints and wrongdoings are not investigated and are ignored, it raises questions as to vested interests and possible corruptions......... j