The Malaysian Insight

DOCTORS at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS) quarantine centre in Serdang, Selangor have sent out an SOS for more manpower as coronavirus patients stack up.

Sources told The Malaysian Insight the 5,000-bed facility for low-risk Covid cases is badly shorthanded.

Doctors and nurses have had to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on several patients, a source said, which should not happen in a quarantine centre.

“The quarantine centre or field hospital is meant to be a temporary stop for patients before they are transferred to the hospital,” said the source, a doctor at the centre.

“It is not equal to a hospital and should never be taken as such, particularly when the staffing is inadequate,” said the source, who is one of the doctors at MAEPS.

The doctors made an urgent request to the Health Ministry earlier this week for more workers.

The source said help must be forthcoming within 72 hours of the call for aid.

Some patients in need of hospital care were transferred to the Slim River hospital yesterday due to the manpower shortage.

A number of Category 4 patients are waiting for medical intervention while discussions are ongoing whether Category 1 patients should be discharged. There were also more than 1,000 Category 3 patients at MAEPS.

A Category 4 Covid-19 infection refers to a patient suffering from symptoms of pneumonia and is given oxygen support while a Category 5 patient shares the same condition and multi-organ failures.

Sources told The Malaysian Insight doctors pleaded with the ministry to deploy more personnel as the healthcare workers had grown demoralised.

Another source suggested for assessment centres to be converted into oxygen treatment centres.

The source said there is no point in assessing the patients because they cannot get into hospitals which are packed to the brim.

The source added that field hospitals be set up at enhanced movement control (EMCO) areas and patients should only be transferred out when they need oxygen.

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba have said that all 154 beds for Category 4 patients at MAEPS were used up.

“The remaining beds for Categories 1,2 and 3 Covid-19 patients at MAEPS are also almost fully occupied.

“MAEPS receives an average of 800 Covid-19 patients a day, 200 of them Category 4 patients,” he added.

He said the ministry was increasing resources at these Covid-19 treatment centres to cope with the growing patient load.

“MOH has re-evaluated its existing strategy and identified fast and responsive measures to be taken to step up preparations at hospitals in the Klang Valley and at MAEPS which are seeing an increase in Category 4 and 5 patients.”

The Malaysian Insight on June 25 reported that nearly 150 severely ill Covid-19 patients in MAEPS were in the queue for transfer to hospitals, which have run out of beds.

The Health Ministry has also mobilised 110 healthcare personnel comprising 75 medical officers, paramedics and drivers from Kedah, Perak and Terengganu, as well as 43 medical officers from Klang Valley hospitals to MAEPS for a six-month period.

A total of 1,550 oxygen cylinders were also sent to MAEPS to ensure continuous supply at the centre. The ministry has also decided to procure 300 units of oxygen concentrators.

Other measures taken include commencing operations at the MOH training centre in Sungai Buloh, which has a capacity of 2,400 beds to house Category 1 and 2 patients to free up space at MAEPS for Category 3 and Category 4 patients.

Meanwhile, the country recorded 9,353 new infections yesterday, taking the national caseload to 827,191.

Selangor reported 4,277 cases in the past 24 hours while Kuala Lumpur had 1,398 cases – July 11, 2021.