While the queues for such services continue to rise, these services continue to be available only in Male region hospitals and level 3 or regional hospitals.
President's Office
When it comes to receiving healthcare in the Maldives, most islanders opt to visit the tertiary hospitals in the capital city of Male’ or go to nearby countries such as India or Sri Lanka for more options and better quality of healthcare. Over the years, the Government of the Maldives has been slowly working towards providing access to better healthcare in islands across the Maldives. As a part of this effort, the Government has decided to introduce psychiatric and speech therapy services in all atoll hospitals.
Although there is access to mental healthcare as well as speech therapy in the Maldives, these services are less accessible in the islands. While the internet has made these services accessible through online sessions, both psychiatry and speech therapy being available in atoll hospitals will take the accessibility of these much-needed services to the next level. This decision by the Government also comes after evaluating the increasing number of patients who have been seeking out mental health services as well as speech therapy in the Maldives.
According to a circular that was sent to hospitals by Minister of Health Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the number of persons suffering from mental health conditions in the Maldives is rising to a concerning level. While the queues for such services continue to rise, these services continue to only be available in Male’ region hospitals, and level 3 or regional hospitals. This has led to a major barrier for islanders who have been seeking both services.
With this, the Government is now preparing to introduce both services in Haa Alif Atoll Hospital, Shaviyani Atoll Hospital, Noonu Atoll Hospital, Baa Atoll Hospital, Lhaviyani Atoll Hospital, Faafu Atoll Hospital, Dhaalu Atoll Hospital, Thaa Atoll Hospital, Gaafu Alif Atoll Hospital, and Fuvahmulah Hospital. As the Government works on establishing these services across the Maldives in the coming year, this will reduce the pending queues in the city and help patients get access to the care they need without delay.
