Eight-month-old Yunus Hussain Abdullah from GDh. Thinadhoo passed away last Friday, with his family alleging medical negligence at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

According to Yunus’s sister, Yunal Hussain, the family had initially taken him to IGMH due to vomiting and excessive crying. After two visits and being sent home with medication, they admitted him on June 20 after no improvement. Once admitted, Yunus developed severe swelling and was treated with IV fluids and injections without clear diagnosis or specialist involvement.

The family claims that even after multiple days in the hospital, they were not properly informed about his condition. A medical officer later said that Yunus had critically high liver enzyme levels. Despite being in critical condition, key scans were delayed due to the weekend, and a pediatric specialist only saw him after the family raised concerns on Thursday.

Attempts to arrange overseas treatment were also hindered. Although a referral letter specified the child could only travel with an oxygen tank, the approval for loading the tank came just 10 minutes after his death. The ICU was full, and Yunus could not be moved to intensive care or another facility.

Yunus died on Friday night after his oxygen levels dropped. CPR was administered until his mother asked for it to stop, by which time blood had started coming from his nose and mouth. The death certificate cited liver failure as the cause, although the family says they were not informed of the diagnosis in time.

IGMH has confirmed that an investigation is underway but has not released further details.