Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has said that the reason for the delay in giving medical treatment to prisoners is due to a lack of prison officers who transport sick individuals to hospitals.
The report prepared by HRCM detailing the reasons for providing medical treatment for individuals under the care of the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) reads the main reason why people have not received treatment in a timely fashion from 2024, 2025 and up until July 2026 is because of a lack of prison officers.
Treatment delay percentage due to lack of officers
- 2024: 49.5 percent
- 2025: 46.9 percent
- Until July 2026: Increased to 63.2 percent
The report highlights the second biggest issue is a delay in securing appointments with specialists.
- 2024: 18.5 percent
- 2025: 20.3 percent
- Until July 2026: 15.8 percent
The report reads there is an yearly increase in treatment delay issues caused by administrative confusion.
Additional reasons for delays in taking prisoners to doctors include late appointment requests and lack of a waiting space for prisoners when they are brought to the doctor.
While HRCM has published a report on medical treatment delay for prisoners, the commission has given recommendations previously to improve the state of the prison.
