National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) has stated the Maldives has been successful in providing critical care for COVID-19 patients.
Speaking at a press conference held at NEOC, Dr. Moosa Hussain, who leads the critical care team for COVID-19, said the Maldives was not well-equipped for a surge in COVID-19 cases when the disease began spreading in the country. As such, he noted the majority of doctors and nurses working in the Maldives were not well trained for critical care procedures.
However, the doctor said efforts to increase critical care capacity over the last couple of months have helped to train over 600 healthcare workers in the field of critical care. He also noted the oxygen capacity in the Maldives has been increased from 7 million to 36 million during this period. Noting the minimum capacity required for a surge in COVID-19 is 16 million, the doctor noted the increased oxygen capacity is a major achievement by the Maldives.
Furthermore, Dr. Moosa Hussain stated the Maldives has a comparatively high survival rate of COVID-19 patients put under critical care. He highlighted a number of patients who underwent critical care in Dharumavantha Hospital and Tree Top Hospital were able to return to normal care, noting it is one area where the Maldives has a good success rate compared to other countries.
The government has been working on establishing the required critical care facilities to prepare for a surge in COVID-19 cases in the Maldives. As such, the medical facility established in Hulhumale’ is expected to boost the COVID-19 treatment capacity in the Maldives significantly upon commencing operations in June.