Main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Women’s Wing has submitted a letter to the Parliament on Friday requesting a probe into the death of a woman and her newborn baby at GA. Atoll Regional Hospital in GA. Villingili and take necessary action.
Fathimath Shiuna of Zamaanee Villa in GA. Villingili died in the regional hospital located on the island shortly after giving birth to her third child. The newborn baby did not survive either.
Shiuna’s family has raised allegations of negligence against the hospital, which they say lacks necessary facilities.
A letter signed by MDP’s Women’s Wing’s President Rozaina Adam was sent to Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla on Friday.
The letter stressed that interviews by Shirumeena’s husband to media outlets suggest severe negligence by government authorities.
Citing GA. Atoll Hospital as the main target behind the suspicions of negligence, the letter emphasized that the incident should not have occurred to a pregnant woman in an age where the health sector has been significantly developed.
“Shifaz Zahir has underscored that the extremely tragic incident of the woman and the newborn dying was a result of the failure of the hospital to carry out its operations responsibly and the lack of sea ambulance service that should be available,” the letter read.
As such, MDP’s Women’s Wing requested the relevant parliamentary committees to investigate the incident, find the persons responsible for the tragedy and for the Independent Institutions Committee to probe the works of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).
“MDP’s Women's Wing finds it imperative that the incident is investigated properly, and necessary action is taken to avoid the repetition of such an incident in the future,” the letter stressed.
Notably, the case is under investigation by both the Health Ministry and Maldives Police Service.
A source from Villingili who spoke to Sun said that the family believes that Shiuna and her newborn died because of a delay in treatment.
The source said the air ambulance did not have enough oxygen for them, leading to a delay in their transfer out of the hospital for further treatment.
The residents of Vilingili continue to express concern over the case – which is not the first time for the hospital to be hit with allegations of negligence.