The Malaysian Insight

THE Covid-19 epidemic, contrary to popular perception, has not resulted in a rise in non-Covid-19-related mortality, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

 

He told the Dewan Rakyat that, according to data, there has been no increase in the average number of fatalities per month for non-Covid-19 patients since the start the epidemic.

In a parliamentary written reply, Khairy said the total deaths involving non-Covid-19 patients in 2019 stood at 62,258, followed by 56,988 last year and 31,086 from January to August this year.

This equates to 5,188 fatalities per month on average in 2019, 4,749 last year, and 3,886 thus far this year.

He was replying to a question from Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen (Bandar Kuching-PH) on the government’s plans to deal with a rise in non-Covid-19 cases and fatalities as well as the numbers projected.

While the government is tackling with the epidemic, Khairy said the Health Ministry is continuing to provide care to other patients, particularly in emergency situations.

He said the ministry has taken a lot of steps to guarantee that non-Covid-19 patients are also treated.

Extending the hours of operation theatres and specialist clinics in certain hospitals, optimising the use of non-specialist and military hospitals for certain medical procedures and mobilising medical specialists from public and private hospitals to facilities lacking such expertise are just a few examples, he said.

The ministry has also outsourced certain services to private institutions, according to Khairy, and launched online services such as virtual clinics.

Concerns have been raised that the public health system’s concentration on the epidemic has resulted in longer wait times for non-Covid-19 patients, leading to some skipping medical appointments and as a result, caused more deaths.

A modelling research conducted by a group of surgeons and anaesthetists from several nations in May last year revealed that 151,717 operations in Malaysia were postponed in the 12 weeks commencing March, with a cancellation rate of around 70.9%.

According to the CovidSurg Collaborative, about 28 million elective operations might be cancelled or postponed globally this year, putting the lives of those impacted in jeopardy.

As a result of the initial movement-control order, local health professionals saw a rise in the backlog in elective procedures in hospitals around the country.

Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye warned in July that the stoppage of outpatient services could cause a spike non-Covid-19-related deaths. – September 17, 2021.