President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has announced that the Malé City Group of Hospitals (MCGH) will be dissolved and replaced by a new Maldives Tertiary Hospitals Group, the President's Office said in a statement on 28 October.
The President made the announcement in a podcast interview. According to the President's Office, the restructuring is meant to strengthen the health system, improve services and cut costs by removing duplication and making hospital management more efficient.
All government tertiary hospitals, including facilities now being upgraded to tertiary level, will be placed under a single administrative structure, the President's Office said.
The President said the hospitals would be moved into the new system within three to four months, starting in November. He said the change would not require any additional staff.
What it means for patients
The President's Office said bringing the hospitals together would allow them to share facilities and let specialist doctors work across different hospitals, which it said would raise the quality of care available to the public. No changes to how patients book appointments or receive treatment have been announced.
The President said arrangements would be made to make full use of doctors trained at government expense, and that foreign specialists would be based in the Maldives to provide specialised care.
He said developing the health sector remained a top government priority, with tertiary hospitals being built in different parts of the country and work under way to raise standards at atoll hospitals and island health centres, so that people can get care closer to home and travel abroad for treatment less often.
Hospitals now under MCGH
According to its official website, MCGH currently runs Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Dharumavantha Hospital, Hulhumalé Hospital and Vilimalé Hospital. The government has not yet published a full list of hospitals that will join the new group.