Hulhumalé Hospital has introduced a dedicated outpatient nursing service.

The new service is intended for patients requiring routine nursing care as well as those needing urgent treatment. It has been launched alongside the establishment of a dedicated outpatient nursing area, which was previously unavailable at the hospital.

Speaking on an exclusive interview with MMTV, Chief Executive Officer of the Malé Group of Hospitals Ibrahim Abdul Razzaq Haleem said the service had previously been provided from a procedure room within the hospital's Emergency Department due to the absence of a dedicated outpatient facility. While the service itself was already available at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), Hulhumalé Hospital had not had a separate space to offer it.

Haleem said providing emergency and non-emergency nursing services from the same location had resulted in longer waiting times for patients. The new outpatient nursing area, located next to the Outpatient Department (OPD) registration counter, allows patients requiring routine nursing care to be treated separately while enabling emergency patients to receive faster care.

He said the new arrangement would make it easier and quicker for patients requiring services such as wound dressing, injections and nebulisation to receive treatment.

The outpatient nursing unit also offers a range of other services, including electrocardiograms (ECGs), inhalation therapy, wound dressing, foetal heartbeat monitoring, blood glucose testing, injections and blood collection for laboratory tests.

Haleem said emergency nursing services previously provided through the Emergency Department would continue unchanged, while the new outpatient facility would help reduce congestion and space constraints in the emergency unit as Hulhumalé's population continues to grow.

He added that the service was introduced following growing public demand and with the support of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, whose direction helped facilitate its establishment. Haleem said the new facility would significantly improve convenience for patients seeking healthcare services at Hulhumalé Hospital.

The hospital’s outpatient nursing service will be available daily from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm.