Klang hospital converts hostel into temporary Covid wards

 

HTAR said the daily cases at the emergency department had increased so sharply that there were no more beds for the patients. (Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Facebook pic)

SHAH ALAM: The trainee doctors’ hostel and outpatient treatment complex at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) in Klang have been converted into temporary wards for Covid-19 patients.

In a Facebook post today, HTAR said its top management as well as heads of departments and units made the decision so that these places could be used to accommodate the influx of Covid-19 cases at its emergency and trauma department.

HTAR said with the number of daily cases in Selangor reaching 4,000 a day, it was a challenging time for the hospital.

It had resulted in such a sharp increase in the daily cases admitted to the emergency department of the hospital that there were no more beds to accommodate the patients.

“The HTAR staff have not given up hope and continue to be prepared to handle the surging number of Covid-19 patients at the hospital.

“HTAR would like to thank all the staff. You are all ‘HTAR Heroes’,” the hospital said.

HTAR had suspended outpatient treatment services to prioritise the increasing number of Covid-19 patients.

Hospital director Dr Zulkarnain Mohd Rawi said yesterday that among other services affected were its outpatient specialist clinics at the ambulatory care centre, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and prescription refills.

The hospital has been bursting at its seams in recent days with patients forced to lie on stretchers outside the emergency room.

To resolve the capacity issue, health minister Dr Adham Baba said more beds and equipment would be sent to the hospital.

The army will also set up a field hospital on the hospital grounds, he said. - FMT