The government will complete the development of tertiary hospitals by the second quarter of next year, Health Minister Ahmed Naseem said.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih pledged to establish tertiary hospitals in five regions of the country. The five hospitals being upgraded to tertiary level are HDh. Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital, R. Ungoofaaru Regional Hospital, L. Gan Regional Hospital, GDh. Thinadhoo Abdul Samad Memorial Hospital, and a tertiary hospital in Hithadhoo, Addu City. There are no plans to upgrade any other hospitals to tertiary standard.
In an interview with AVAS, Minister Naseem said it is difficult to give an exact date for the completion of the tertiary hospitals. However, based on the current pace of the project, the hospitals are expected to be completed by the second quarter of next year, he said.
The minister said the machinery and facilities required for the new tertiary hospitals are being procured, and the ministry is working hard to complete the hospitals soon. Many of the doctors and nurses needed for the tertiary hospitals will be brought from foreign countries, he said.
"There are good doctors and nurses in the Maldives who can reach high levels, but they are less in number. Currently, many doctors are being trained in the medical school run by the [Maldives] university. But their services will be only available in four or five years," Naseem said.
The minister said the government is working to build and train the people needed for the Maldives' health sector. However, it is not necessary to establish a separate institution as a medical school in the Maldives, he said. Explaining his reasoning, the minister said a number of doctors and nurses from different parts of the country are currently being trained in the medical school under the National University, which is able to keep pace with demand.
The minister said that the nurses currently working in the Maldives should be given different trainings.
"We need to plan training programs for nurses. We are talking to various foreign nursing training institutes to train nurses in different areas," he said.
