Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) on Wednesday said it is making preparations to provide fertility treatments.
Farhath Shaheer, Chief Executive Officer of the state-run hospital told PSM News that they are currently working on introducing specialty and super-specialty services which are currently unavailable.
The hospital is currently holding discussions on introducing treatments for infertility, he added.
Statistics from national healthcare insurance provider Aasandha show that a large number of people travel abroad for infertility treatment.
A number of specialty services previously unavailable in the country will be introduced in IGMH with the establishment of a National Diagnostics Centre, which is currently underway, Farhath said.
The project to develop the 25-storey Diagnostic Centre building, contracted to Singapore-based Shenghua Construction, commenced on June 5.
The centre would provide all outpatient consultation services, in addition to all necessary laboratory and scanning services required by patients. IGMH said the centre would also introduce premium health services, which would pave the way to hold national health-related symposiums and conferences.
The new building, proposed to be developed to modern standards, would be designed to match the local environment. The ground floor of the building would be set up for triage or emergency cases.
The US$140 million project is expected to be completed in 2018, and would be able to cater to at least 130,000 of the population from Malé and Hulhumalé.