The Ministry of Health has stated that 2,270 patients have been provided with air ambulance services.
The air ambulance services were inaugurated by the current administration as part of its efforts to enhance healthcare services across the nation, with the aim of transporting patients to appropriate healthcare facilities in cases of emergencies and at times when it is required.
The air ambulance service was launched on 1 March 2024. The service was launched to transport patients in emergencies from different parts of the country, as per President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s pledge.
Speaking at the ceremony to mark the handover of ambulances to 14 islands, State Minister at the Ministry of Health, Ahmed Gasim said that the President has placed a special importance to strengthen the healthcare sector, with an emphasis on strengthening patient transportation mechanism across the nation. This emphasis is especially key to addressing systematic issues in the healthcare sector, noting that islands in Maldives are geographically dispersed. In this regard, the state minister highlighted the air ambulance services. 2,270 patients have so far been transported via the air ambulance service, he said.
“The air ambulance service has undertaken 1,755 trips and transported 2,270 patients”, State Minister Gasim said.
The government did not stop its efforts at the inauguration of the services. Furthermore, it has continued to develop this service. In this sense, Ventilators, Incubators and other such emergency service equipment have been added to the air ambulance repertoire.
The air ambulance service is provided using a Dash-8 aircraft. Training has been provided to individuals, including doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians.
To add to these developments, an agreement has also been signed to transfer patients to Thailand and Dubai through air ambulance. The agreement was signed by Island Aviation Services Ltd (IASL), National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) and the Ministry of Health.