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PETALING JAYA: Information from the field in Sabah on the occupation of beds in hospitals and quarantine centers, as well as in intensive care units (ICU), especially in red zones, does not correspond to the figures presented during the conference Health Ministry press release on Monday (October 26), says the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
Its president, Professor Datuk Dr. M. Subramaniam, said that the situation was probably worse than what was broadcast in the updates on Monday (October 26).
“The increased occupancy of beds in hospitals and quarantine centers, and the use of ICU beds in red zones that reach the edge may be masked by reduced use in other centers,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (October 27) .
“This discrepancy is likely due to the fact that the statistics presented are an average for all facilities in Sabah,” he added.
“We urge the Ministry of Health to present statistics based on the individual hospitals and quarantine centers used for the treatment of Covid-19 in Sabah to avoid giving a false sense of security amid the alarming condition in the red zones,” He said.
At a press conference on Monday, Health Director General Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah had said that only 33% of the 5,713 beds in Sabah were being used.
He had also said that 69% of the 128 beds are currently used in intensive care units (ICU), while 33% of the 193 ventilators are used.
However, Dr. Subramaniam said that the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, had said, on October 22, that 99.5% of hospital beds were occupied.
“This is in stark contrast to the figures recently released by the Ministry of Health.
“If in fact certain hospitals and quarantine centers are used up to 90% or more compared to the rest, the Ministry of Health should seek to increase the availability of resources and infrastructure in these centers.
“Hospitals that have closed or unoccupied in these areas must also be rented for this purpose,” he said.
He also said that although there might be low utilization of ICU beds in other districts, it would be challenging to transport a critically ill Covid-19 patient on ventilator support to another health facility without endangering the patient and the patients. the rest.
Dr. Subramaniam said that the need for medical equipment, and not just ventilators, in the state had also increased considerably.
“The need for medical equipment like syringe pumps, vital sign monitoring devices and many other ancillary items is skyrocketing.
“With the recent increase in the use of high-flow nasal cannulas (HFNC), aerosolization is increasing, and therefore the need for powered air-purifying respirators for staff monitoring patients in the room increases.
“MMA would suggest that the Ministry of Health collect these items that were acquired during the first and second waves in other parts of the country and mobilize them to send them to Sabah immediately,” he said.
He also proposed the outsourcing of green zone patients and stable non-communicable disease (NCD) cases to general practitioners throughout Sabah for a nominal fee.
“They could also devise a mechanism so that prescribed follow-up drugs are still available from government pharmacies.
Another option is to hire nearby general practitioners to help with the detection of Covid-19 for a nominal fee.
“The public and private sectors in health care must work together, especially at times like this,” he said.
It added that the MMA had sent medical equipment worth nearly RM1.2 thousand to the Sabah health department through its Sabah Covid-19 fund.
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