Tag: Dr Sheeza Ali

Voice of Women fears further discrimination for IGMH scandal victims

Maldivian NGO Voice of Women has expressed concern that the victims of the recent HIV scandal at Indira Ghandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) will suffer from further discrimination.

“Our foremost concern is that the mother and child will be subject to unfair and unfounded discrimination based on societal myths and misinformation about the disease,” said the women’s rights NGO.

Despite acknowledgements that the Maldives as a society exhibits a number of high risk behaviors for transmission of HIV, the number of people reported to be living with the illness is less than 100.

The incident, in which HIV positive blood was given to a female patient – whom local media has reported to be pregnant – became public last week.

Following similar calls from the Human Rights Commission, Voice of Women has called for the protection of the patient’s identity as well as urging concerned parties to initiate public awareness campaigns.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has accused the government of hiding the news – first discovered 8 days prior to the public announcement – until the conclusion of celebrations marking its policy achievements since assuming power.

Health Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela has rejected calls for her resignation, arguing that the incident was  a one off. She did, however, inform a Majlis committee last week that the health sector was severely underfunded.

An Indian expatriate – allegedly responsible for incorrectly marking the blood test – is currently being held in police custody. IGMH Deputy CEO Dr Mohamed Habeeb told MPs on the government oversight committee that the Indian national had admitted his culpability in the incident.

Voice of Women have been critical of the tone taken by Dr Shakeela in the aftermath of the incident, suggesting she had failed to take responsibility for the systemic failures that led to the incident – instead blaming a single individual.

“We are concerned by repeated calls by the Minister for harsh and criminal punishment for an individual. The punishments should be relevant and take into consideration the failure of the system (if that is the case) rather than laying responsibility solely on an individual,” read the group’s press release.

The NGO also questioned the police’s ability to conduct what it suggests ought to be a medical inquiry.

Further incidents and president’s response

Local media yesterday reported that a similar incident had occurred in nearby Hulhumalé Hospital, with a male patient attempting suicide after mistakenly being told he had hepatitis B.

CNM reported that hospital staff had advised the man to separate from his wife before discovering that the test results were in fact those of another patient. After taking a knife and some rope to the local football pitch, locals dissuaded the man from killing himself. The family are reportedly planning to submit a complaint to the Health Ministry.

Director General of Health Services Dr Sheeza Ali was not responding to calls at the time of press, while Permanent Secretary at the Health Ministry Geela Ali denied any knowledge of the incident.

After being criticised for failing to mention the incident during yesterday’s state address at the opening of the Majlis, President Yameen last night commented on the IGMH incident for the first time.

During a campaign event for Henveiru Dhekunu constituency PPM candidate Mohamed Riyaz, the president was reported as saying that the incident ought not to have happened under any circumstances.

Yameen went on to note that overcrowding at IGMH – which he described as being “busier than the fishmarket” – was a problem that needed resolving urgently.

“If we look at the health minister’s statements at the People’s Majlis committee, there are clinics in Malé. There is a land and building given at a cheap rate – free –  called ADK,” Haveeru quoted Yameen as saying.

The privately-run ADK hospital is the capital’s second largest, and is run by the ADK Group. The group is chaired by the Maldivian Democratic Party candidate for the Komandoo Dhaairaa constituency, Ahmed Nashid.

Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed met today with representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), though the President’s Office did not report the IGMH incident as having been discussed.

Shakeela has said that she sought the assistance and advice of the WHO upon learning of the incident on February 19.

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Resigning not the solution: Health Minister Dr Shakeela

Resigning in the wake of last week’s transfusion of HIV positive blood to a patient is not the solution to problems in the health sector, Health Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela told MPs on the government oversight committee on Friday (February 28).

Dr Shakeela told the opposition-majority oversight committee that “human error” was to blame for the incident at the government-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), as the lab technician reported the blood as negative despite the machine showing otherwise.

“My resignation isn’t going to solve this. I could resign if that is the case. My resignation is not going to solve it. That’s why I am saying, what is the solution? The solution is all of us cooperating and working together to improve the system,” she said.

Shakeela added that she had been receiving text messages calling for her resignation.

Asked by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza if she accepted “full responsibility without any excuses” for the incident, Shakeela replied that she accepts responsibility for “providing benefits” to whomever it was owed.

The ministry would attempt to explain to the public that the incident occurred due to “human error,” she stressed, adding that she did not think members of the public would stop visiting the government-run tertiary hospital.

As the donor was found by the patient, Shakeela stressed that the blood sample did not come from the hospital’s blood bank. The donor was not previously registered as an AIDs patient.

The government was ready to take whatever measures were necessary to restore public confidence, she added.

The minister also denied that there was a cover-up, or that the revelation to the media was prompted by leaked information.

Shakeela urged MPs to consider the mishap as “a one-off” incident caused by a mistake.

“Don’t think that this will keep happening to us all the time. We are taking steps for example to try and go to a fully automated system, to improve it and reduce human mistakes,” she said.

ISO standards

Upon learning of the incident on February 19, Shakeela said she informed the World Health Organisation (WHO), seeking advice and assistance following an emergency meeting with high-level officials at the Health Ministry.

The Health Ministry acted in line with international best practices, she said, and immediately launched independent inquiries.

The incident was revealed to the media shortly after receiving a draft report from an independent committee, she added, noting that further investigations were taking place to identify shortcomings at the hospital.

The machines at IGMH were state of the art whilst the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and protocols were at international standards, she noted.

Health Ministry Director General Dr Sheeza Ali meanwhile revealed that the laboratory was presently not “ISO certified”.

“But we are starting work during this year towards ISO certification. It is likely that we might not reach the latest [standards] as we might not be able to fulfil all the requirements,” she said.

Budget constraints

While the Health Ministry had asked for a “realistic budget” of MVR4 billion, Permanent Secretary Geela Ali said the budget approved by parliament had only MVR2.5 billion earmarked for the health sector.

Of the MVR2.5 billion annual budget, Geela noted that MVR1.8 billion was allocated for the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA).

Shakeela meanwhile told MPs that the health sector was in disarray, with crumbling infrastructure and facilities due to insufficient funds allocated in the state budget for many years.

“If we look at machinery, a screw comes loose from the machine and it falls on the head of the patient who is taken into the operating theatre,” she said.

Moreover, attracting qualified foreign doctors was “very difficult” as the salary of doctors in the Maldives has not kept pace with pay rises for doctors in the South Asian region, she explained.

Due to the budget constraints, Shakeela said the ministry was seeking foreign assistance, and that machinery and equipment were “on the way”.

In response to complaints regarding the budget, MDP MPs on the committee pointed out that health policy was formulated by the government while the state budget was proposed by the Finance Ministry, reviewed by a budget committee controlled by the ruling coalition, and approved by the government majority in parliament.

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IGMH lab technician responsible for HIV blood transfusion in custody

An expatriate lab technician at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) responsible for the transfusion of HIV positive blood to a pregnant Maldivian patient has been taken into police custody on Thursday night (February 27).

IGMH Deputy CEO Dr Mohamed Habeeb told MPs on the government oversight committee yesterday that the Indian national had admitted his culpability in the incident.

Local media has since revealed his identity and reported that the Criminal Court has extended pretrial detention to seven days.

Habeeb was summoned to the oversight committee along with Health Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela and senior officials at the ministry.

Briefing MPs on the incident, Habeeb explained that the blood test was done on February 2 and the transfusion took place the next day.

The technician at fault reported the blood as negative despite the machine showing that it was positive for HIV.

The error was discovered when the patient came in for a routine checkup on February 18, he continued, after which the blood test report was reviewed.

A high-level meeting with senior officials from the Health Ministry was held immediately after the discovery and a three-member committee was formed to look into the incident, he said.

The committee comprised of an experienced doctor, senior nurse, and retired lab technician, he added – none of whom were employed by the hospital.

The incident was revealed to the media hours after the committee shared its findings, he said.

The blood sample was taken from a donor found by the patient and not from the hospital’s blood bank, Habeeb stressed. The donor was not previously registered as an HIV patient.

While there were normally two technicians at the lab, Habeeb noted that the Indian national was alone on the day in question as it was a public holiday.

Habeeb revealed that the technician left for India on the day of the incident and returned to the Maldives about two days later.

The technician had been working at the hospital for seven years and had recently received an award for his performance, Habeeb said.

However, Permanent Secretary at the Health Ministry Geela Ali revealed that the technician had been fired from his previous job in 2006.


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