The new Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin should heed the SOS calls of the Penang General Hospital surgeons who want clear plans for the growing Covid-19 caseload, as reported by Malay Mail online (MMO).
MMO reported that Covid-19 cases that are growing at over 1,000 daily meant wards in the Penang General Hospital (GH) are at almost full capacity, prompting surgeons to seek direct guidelines for dealing with the spillover.
Some facilities in the hospital have had to be converted into Covid-19 wards and intensive care units (ICU), including the general operating theatre (OT) complex that has between nine and 10 OTs.
The conversion of the general OT complex meant all non-Covid related surgeries have been pushed to a smaller OT, which was previously used for minor surgeries.
All major surgeries such as for serious injuries due to accidents, tumour removal for cancer patients, open heart surgeries or emergency Caesarean delivery are now being held in the small OT, causing a queue for its usage.
“It was not only physical limitations, we have resource limitations too as most of the staff have to help with the Covid-19 wards,” said one surgeon.
There were a total 304 Covid-19 cases involving the hospital staff between January and August this year, the bulk of which were in August.
In August alone, 208 GH staff tested positive for Covid-19.
According to the surgeon, the latest report showed that 17 OT staff who have worked in the small OT tested positive for Covid-19.
Three patients who were recovering after successful operations here have also contracted Covid-19.
The situation is now almost at a breaking point, with the surgical team constantly worried about their safety and that of their patients.
Khairy should resolve the problems faced by Penang Hospital as well as other public hospitals as a result of the of the worsening Covid-19 pandemic.
He should give priority to break the back of the problem of high Covid-19 death rates and high Brought-in-Dead Covid-19 deaths.
In the nine days as the new Health Minister on 30th August, five states have high Covid-19 death rates, namely Selangor (980 deaths), Johor (413), Sabah (327) and Penang (227) and Kedah (202).
In Khairy’s first seven days as the Heath Minister, there were 600 BID Covid-19 deaths as compared to the previous seven days where there were 413 cases.
The daily Covid-19 data are still grim and bleak as there are no signs of a downward trend either for daily Covid-19 new cases or Covid-19 deaths.
Yesterday’s 18,547 daily new Covid-19 cases and 311 Covid-19 deaths (with 93 BID Covid-19 deaths) are too high, ranking Malaysia among the world’s Top Ten countries in both categories since August.
Yesterday, we were the world’s No. 6 among nations in daily new Covid-19 cases and No. 8 in daily Covid-19 deaths.
The first thing Khairy must do is to ensure that Malaysia drops out of the world’s Top Ten countries in daily new Covid-19 cases and Covid-19 deaths.
The upward trend in BID Covid-19 deaths since Khairy’s swearing-in as the new Health Minister is a matter of concern. In Khairy’s first seven days as the Health Minister, there were 600 BID Covid-19 deaths as compared to the previous seven days where there were 413 cases.
In view of his statement in Kota Kinabalu on Monday, Malaysians are waiting for his clarification as to how many corpses are in the public hospitals, giving state-by-state figures, which are not recorded in the Ministry of Health data on Covid-19 because they are awaiting Covid-19 tests.
To help solve the problem of high Covid-19 deaths and high BID Covid-18 deaths, Khairy should direct the hospitalisation of Category 3 Covid-19 cases and those with comorbidities like obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke and cancers and the urgent construction of more field hospitals by the armed forces.
(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday 8th September 2021)
Seruan untuk Khairy mengarahkan hospitalisasi pesakit Covid-19 Kategori 3 dan juga mereka dengan komorbiditi seperti obesiti, darah tinggi, diabetes, strok dan kanser dan juga untuk membina lebih banyak hospital lapangan oleh pihak tentera
Menteri Kesihatan baharu, Khairy Jamaluddin, perlu mendengar rayuan doktor-doktor di Hospital Pulau Pinang yang mahukan rancangan yang jelas untuk berhadapan dengan jumlah kes Covid-19 yang semakin bertambah seperti yang dilaporkan oleh portal Malay Mail Online (MMO).
MMO melaporkan yang kes Covid-19 yang bertambah pada kadar lebih daripada 1,000 kes sehari bermakna wad-wad hospital di Hospital Pulau Pinang kini berada hampir di kapasiti penuh, memerlukan doktor untuk mendapatkan garis panduan untuk menguruskan lebihan pesakit ini.
Sesetengah fasiliti di hospital telah diubah menjadi wad Covid-19 dan unit rawatan rapi (ICU), termasuklah kompleks pembedahan am yang mengandungi kira-kira sembilan ke sepuluh unit bilik pembedahan.
Pengubahan bilik pembedahan ini bermakna semua pembedahan bukan berkaitan Covid-19 telah dipindahkan ke bilik pembedahan yang lebih kecil, yang sebelum ini digunakan untuk pembedahan berskala kecil.
Semua pembedahan utama melibatkan kecederaan serius akibat kemalangan, pembuangan tumor untuk pesakit kanser, pembedahan jantung, atau pembedahan caesarean kecemasan kini dijalankan di bilik bedah yang lebih kecil, membawa kepada kesesakan.
“Kami bukan sahaja berhadapan dengan kekurangan ruang fizikal, tetapi kami juga berhadapan dengan kekurangan sumber juga memandangkan ramai kakitangan terlibat dengan usaha membantu wad Covid-19” kata seorang doktor bedah.
Terdapat sejumlah 304 kes Covid-19 melibatkan kakitangan hospital di antara bulan Januari sehingga Ogos tahun ini, dengan kebanyakan kes di bulan Ogos.
Pada bulan Ogos sahaja, 208 orang staf dijangkiti Covid-19.
Menurut doktor bedah tersebut, laporan terkini menunjukkan yang 17 orang kakitangan bilik bedah telah disahkan positif Covid-19.
Tiga orang pesakit yang sedang pulih selepas pembedahan yang berjaya juga telah dijangkiti Covid-19.
Situasinya kini amat genting, dengan pasukan bedah sentiasa bimbang mengenai keselamatan mereka dan pesakit mereka.
Khairy perlu menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi oleh Hospital Pulau Pinang dan hospital-hospital lain akibat peningkatan jumlah kes Covid-19 ini.
Beliau perlu memberikan keutamaan untuk menyelesaikan masalah kematian dan kematian dibawa ke hospital akibat Covid-19 yang tinggi.
Dalam sembilan hari pertama sebagai Menteri Kesihatan baharu pada 30 Ogos, lima negeri mencatatkan angka kematian akibat Covid-19 yang tinggi, iaitu Selangor (980 kematian), Johor (413), Sabah (327) dan Pulau Pinang (227) dan Kedah (202).
Dalam tujuh hari pertama Khairy sebagai Menteri Kesihatan, terdapat 600 kematian BID akibat Covid-19 berbanding 413 kes tujuh hari sebelumnya.
Data Covid-19 harian masih suram kerana tidak ada tanda-tanda beralih ke arah penurunan jumlah kes jangkitan harian atau kes kematian harian Covid-19.
18,547 kes baharu dan 311 kematian akibat Covid-19 (dengan 93 kematian BID Covid-19) yang dicatatkan semalam masih terlalu tinggi, menjadikan Malaysia antara Sepuluh negara teratas di dunia dalam kedua-dua kategori sejak Ogos.
Semalam kita berada di tempat ke-6 dan ke-8 dengan jumlah kes baharu dan kematian akibat Covid-19 tertinggi di dunia.
Perkara pertama yang perlu dilakukan oleh Khairy adalah untuk memastikan Malaysia tidak lagi tergolong dalam 10 negara teratas dengan jumlah kes baharu dan kematian harian ini.
Trend peningkatan kematian BID Covid-19 sejak Khairy mengangkat sumpah sebagai Menteri Kesihatan ini agak merunsingkan. Dalam tujuh hari pertama Khairy sebagai Menteri Kesihatan, terdapat 600 kematian BID Covid-19 berbanding tujuh hari sebelumnya di mana terdapat 413 kes.
Dengan kenyataan beliau di Kota Kinabalu di pada hari Isnin, rakyat Malaysia sedang menantikan penjelasan beliau mengenai berapa banyakkah jenazah, mengikut negeri, yang masih belum didaftarkan oleh Kementerian Kesihatan kerana menunggu giliran untuk menjalani ujian saringan Covid-19.
Untuk membantu menyelesaikan masalah kematian dan kematian BID akibat Covid-19 yang tinggi, Khairy perlu mengarahkan hospitalisasi pesakit Covid-19 Kategori 3 dan juga mereka dengan komorbiditi seperti obesiti, darah tinggi, diabetes, strok dan kanser dan juga untuk membina lebih banyak hospital lapangan oleh pihak tentera.
(Kenyataan Media (2) oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Rabu, 8 September 2021)
