He said this was based on the existing number of MAF healthcare personnel. Although the MAF currently has three field hospitals, namely in Tawau, Sabah; Kapit, Sarawak; and Kepala Batas, Penang; we are capable of setting up two more field hospitals. Actually, the MAF can set up more field hospitals, but to do that, we will require additional staff, namely 30 doctors and 100 paramedics, ” he said at a virtual media conference after a working visit to Pharmaniaga LifeScience in Puchong here Sunday (May 23).
Ismail Sabri said that with the additional personnel, the MAF would be able to construct more field hospitals as well as add other health equipment and supplies for the management of Covid-19.
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Not only are military-built hospitals being deployed, ‘field ICUs’ are set to be rolled out in Penang, Malaysia. NOOR HISHAM ABDULLAH VIA FACEBOOK
Malaysia turns to field ICUs, containers and parking lots to cope with Covid-19 overflow
Tue, 18 May 2021
Unorthodox measures are being rolled out as Malaysia’s healthcare system is stretched thin, not just by the rising number of Covid-19 cases, but also from the severity of the infections, with more critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICU).
Not only are military-built hospitals being deployed, “field ICUs” are set to be rolled out in Penang, where critical care capacity has breached 100 per cent, while the surge in deaths has forced Sungai Buloh Hospital, the Klang Valley’s main coronavirus treatment facility, to use a shipping container as a makeshift morgue.
The army s field ICU at the Kepala Batas Hospital in Penang will be fully operational soon. - Bernama
KEPALA BATAS: The army expects the modular 27-bed field intensive care unit (ICU) it is setting up at Kepala Batas Hospital to be operational by Saturday (May 22).
The field ICU is being set up by the Kluang Medical Second Battalion.
Commanding officer Lt-Col Dr Mohd Zamri Deraman said his unit, which is based in Kluang, was ordered to help Kepala Batas Hospital increase ICU beds for Covid-19 patients. We are using a modular concept by bringing in four containers which will be used to place 12 ICU beds.
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Covid-19 hospitals are doing their best to accommodate the ever-increasing numbers of Covid-19 patients through repurposing ordinary wards.
However, according to the Health Director General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, this reduces the chances of non-Covid-19 patients receiving proper critical care.
Chart courtesy of Noor HIsham Abdullah’s Facebook.
In a Facebook post, Dr Noor Hisham shared the latest statistics on the occupancy of Covid-19 ICUs across the country. As of Mei 18, the Covid-19 critical care bed and ICU utilisation nationwide are at an average of 74%.
ICUs in the Klang Valley alone has reached 89% capacity. States like Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kedah, Sarawak, and Negeri Sembilan are at over 80%.