The government on Monday decided to decommission Hithadhoo Regional Hospital with the opening to Addu Equatorial Hospital.
Policy Secretary at the President's Office, Aiminath Shauna stated in a letter to the Minister of Health, Abdulla Ameen, that the state will shift the regional hospital's services to the Equatorial Hospital and decommission the former institution.
However, the letter did not mention a date for the process.
In the letter, Shauna tasked the Health Ministry to coordinate with relevant authorities and to undertake the process of transferring the regional hospital's facilities, equipment and staff to Addu Equatorial Hospital.
The government plans to inaugurate the 100-bed tertiary hospital and begin its operations at the earliest, reports local media Mihaaru.
Speaking to local media Mihaaru, Spokesperson from Health Ministry confirmed that all the machinery and equipment, except the MRI machine, have already been installed at the new hospital.
According to the Spokesperson, they are currently working on fixing any issues that arose during the installation process.
"We are [also] conducting the final steps of employing and training hospital staff. We can become operational and start providing services when we finally shift the admitted patients to the Equatorial Hospital" the Spokesperson revealed.
The decision to decommission Hithadhoo Regional Hospital was made to cut down on costs and reduce the strain on 2020's state budget.
Construction of the tertiary-level hospital began during former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's administration, funded by a loan from Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).
A total of MVR 171 million was spent on the hospital, including the procurement of equipment for the hospital.
The government is yet to make a decision on the use of existing machinery and equipment in the regional hospital as it shuts down.
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