The agreement between India’s Apollo Group and the Maldives government to manage Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has stalled, after the private healthcare giant failed to submit a required operational management agreement by the July deadline.
“We were supposed to receive a plan by the end of July,” said State Health Minister Dr Abdul Bari. “They required additional information which we have provided.”
The operations management agreement was to be submitted following a situational analysis of the hospital.
That agreement said that both parties were required to cement the deal and sign the 12 year management agreement by the end of July.
Dr Bari said the government had requested an update from Apollo, but insisted the hospital’s future was not in limbo.
Managing Director of IGMH Mohamed Zubair said the hospital was not preparing for a management change, but noted that the deal “has neither failed nor succeeded. It is yet to be decided.”
“Apollo is an expert group and would bring a lot of benefits to the people,” he said. “They have the capacity to raise the existing standards. But even if they do not come we will continue trying to improve services.”
However the delay was making “little investments” more difficult, he said.
Apollo has previously estimated that it will need to spend US$25 million to bring the hospital up to global standards.
Chairman of the privatisation committee Mahmood Razee said following announcement of the agreement in January that one of the first changes to be made by Apollo would be to management.
“The major issue was that the management structure [at IGMH] was not working properly, this led to high costs and some services and medicines not being available. The overall quality of service went down,” he said.
Apollo also signalled its intentions to make 80 percent of hospital employees Maldivian over a 15 year period, although it was unclear as to how this would be achieved given the lack of medical higher education facilities in the country.
In April, a series of alleged blunders at the hospital – including wrong injections being given, a woman who claimed to have had a vein sewn into her skin and parents of a suicidal adolescent who complained their son suffered a motorbike accident and was discharged after being given an IV – highlighted a system under pressure.
Earlier this month the victim of a stabbing told Minivan News that doctors at IGMH had stitched his wound and sent him home, “but I did not feel well. I was having difficulty breathing, but since they said I was fine, I thought I was fine,’’ he said.
“Later, I realised air was spreading inside my body and my back, chest, neck and arms were puffing up. Doctors at ADK said that I had been stabbed in the lungs and that one of my lungs had stopped functioning. They said if I had been any later the air would have reached my brain and they would not have been able to help me.”
IGMH was originally gifted to the Maldives by the government of India.
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Why does everything in this article seem to be horribly bad news?
cause the IGMH is in dire straits already 10 years ago when the population of this country was abt 5%-7% less.....
dear salim,
you may get the answer if you step into IGMH to get treatment for a major health concern. It should scare you to put ur life or lives of a loved one in the hands of the only government hospital in Male'.
The situation at IGMH has gotten from worse to absolutely absurd since this government stepped in.
There has been times where stock of the most basic items such as surgical gloves has not being available at this hospital.
My guess is there will be atleast 1 blunder in every other treatment at IGMH. this article does not do justice but it is being polite...
The fact that Apollo deal is not progressing is yet another example of ill thought through privatization schemes that is playing around with the country's most critical systems such as healthcare, education and transportation.
We cant just privatize for the sake of privatization. these are matters of serious concern and consequences that may linger and haunt us for many years to come.
Look at whats happening with transportation - people who won the transportation networks and their tourism subsidies are going bankrupt! laamu atoll the first one to introduce transportation under the scheme is folding. Same fate awaits for the rest!not even a single bid winner has started developing their resort islands, they just keep pumping money locked into a failed agreement.
look at education. What improvements is there in giyasudeen school that got handed over to an indian party. Its the same as a local school - i frankly dont see anytihng international about it! education ministry could have done better managing it themselves? i am pretty sure!
look at GMR and how much miscommunication and misperceptions there are about what that project really is! we still dont know the truth behind the benefits of that project or who stood to benefit from it. i still havent receivd an answer why a company that makes 20 million in profit has to be given to a foreign mgt for 70 million something advance! u can return that investment in less than 4 yrs! therefore shudnt it be more!
look at this system of government and how its working. its not a system at all today. I frankly believe being under maumoon's dictatorship n his inner circle of corrupt family members and friends was far better than the lawlessness, uncertainty, mismanagement and corruption spread across at multi levels of government.
@notforpoorlythoughthroughprivatizationschemes
I strongly agree with your last paragraph.
beacause of heavy crime situation , and no protection from gouvernmant for foreign doctors from Europe,Singapore etc.so if governmant cannot give normal security fot normal civilized work condition and lifestyle of many doctors,
what for high level specialists must visit Maldives for work? to get knife inside of the chest ?so it is time to enjoy low category doctors from Somali with false diploma .nothing special in such situation just 100%logic
Later, I realised air was spreading inside my body and my back, chest, neck and arms were puffing up. Doctors at ADK said that I had been stabbed in the lungs and that one of my lungs had stopped functioning. They said if I had been any later the air would have reached my brain and they would not have been able to help me.”
You seem to have had what we call a subcutaneous emphysema-air leak into the suncutaneous tissue. So mate, what did ADK do to save your brain.. took your brain out???
Hey Minivian news you cannot put Dr. before everyone. It takes time and lot of effort to get those two letters. I did just a quick fact check Sate Minster Mr. Baaree according to President office website is not a Dr.
http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/4/?ref=3,13,0
@notforpoorlythoughthroughprivatizationschemes
Good point made in your last paragraph...
An island nation like the Maldives with a small population, few resources, heavily dependent on tourism for its prosperity, cannot afford to experiment with governments.
Specially a multi party government that divides the ideologies of merely 300,000 odd people unevenly spread across 200 odd islands under the banner of democracy and freedom!
Modern democracy - power to and participation of the people - cannot work in such small population. thats just my personal opinion.
It may work in United States, where even the smallest of 50 states have more than 500,000 people. they have got the critical mass, the education system churning politicians and leaders.
look at the type of characters we have at the parliament! some i wouldnt trust lending 1/2 a laari. imagine going for local elections in time to come. how many more corrupt characters will we spawn out of this democracy experiment.
For arguments sake, lets take the problems we are having this one and only government hospital in Male'....honestly, how many parties, how many leaders of those parties and how many multiple opinions do we need to fix it?
wouldnt it be easier if there was just one person in charge of everything to take care of just 300,000 people?
Nothing was working under Maumoon, especially after the tsunami. Things really deteriorated, in the public sector, after the formation of the Civil Service.
Democracy is messy. If you cannot tolerate messy government, bring back the autocracy. They only mess up your mind, break your spine, steal your money, impoverish the people. But order there will be.
The government and Appolo still not have signed the agreement because they can’t decide on the size of the Indian flag to be hosted at the hospital. Ironically it’s the government who are demanding to put a bigger flag.
wow! in a small island country that has a 100 percent muslim population and there is an alarmingly high stabbing, murder, daylight robbery, schoolboy road gangs and corrupted politicians run thug groups just because relevant authorities'(the Parliament, the Judiciary and the Government) disability of governance we all have to go into our mosques and pray for a good health care facility like we all did on the day tsunami hit out country...what do you think my dear fellow citizens of this country???? i don't think we can get global standard doctors for our hospitals as i know they are NOT fools to come and live where there is NO law and order at all
@haleem
What difference it makes which flag and its size to be hosted.
We have almost become part of the Kerala province, the country is not big enough to be a province of india on its own.
Soon we will find 320,000 Maldivians, 200,000 Indians another 100,000 people form other nationalities.
before raising fingers at others we must see ourself the private people (foreigners)will not come and invest their money unless favourable enviorment present if we want good things be ready to expect the reality economic is not made by tourism only a private investment is also needed a huge amount of money whom of the our people have
@Salim Waheed.
The reality of good things coming to people, or are brought towards people are fended away by people such as YOU!
If you cannot understand why everything in this article seem to be horrible news, go back to your slate; and stop blabbering, boy!
y is everybody ganging against this harmless boy Salim, is it because he is the only one amongst us to actually write under his own name?
Dreams unlimited !
These things work only on paper - not in real life!
@ Mikalo
Your comment is 100% ignorant maldivian.
How many more people has get mistreated and/or to die before the government improves the health sector? Chasing the pipe dream of going carbon neutral? Reclaiming land from the sea? A bridge?
Democracy is expensive. Those who have acquired it, had done so with a lot of sacrifices, 'blood spilling', etc.
Many have concerns on the paths, some countries took, to achieve what we now call western democracy.
if we want it, we will most probably have to suffer initially as well. Make sacrifices as well. All depends on how strong opposition is towards democracy. And I am not talking about party politics. Its not as easy as saying 'Oh, now we are a democracy'.
Awareness, capacity, informed decision makers, social harmony, all contribute to strengthening a fledgling democracy.
IGMH, is just one of many institutions caught in a very turbulent political sea. If we all do not try and steer it, we will never reach calmer seas.
Just a thought.