Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today visited the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) in Klang which is struggling to cope with the number of Covid-19 patients.
He told the media that an additional 151 beds would be placed at the Mother and Child Care Complex (Kriba) and the hospital would also receive another 15 ventilators.
"I have ordered (the authorities) to look into the mental health of (frontline workers) and the people and ensure that the welfare and morale of health workers are taken care of," he was quoted as saying by Astro Awani.
Muhyiddin visited the hospital's emergency department and forensics department.
The hospital's emergency department made the news recently after canvass beds were spread throughout the department to house Covid-19 patients.
One doctor told Malaysiakini that the emergency department looked like the set of a "disaster movie".
Additionally, the forensic department needed a freezer container to store an increasing amount of dead bodies.
Outpatient services at the hospital, which included physiotherapy and prescription refills, had to be shut down in order to prioritise Covid-19 patients.
Muhyiddin said the number of beds for Covid-19 patients in HTAR would be increased to 606 and the number of ICU beds to 72.
The prime minister said the state currently has more than 5,000 beds for Covid-19 patients and all public hospitals are treating Covid-19 patients except for the Shah Alam Hospital.
Stop the PR, do the right thing
Meanwhile, Klang MP Charles Santiago censured Muhyiddin for “boasting” that Malaysia's daily vaccination rate is amongst the highest in the world.
“Just please stop it already. Let's look at other statistics: today's Covid-19 cases have surpassed 11,000. Malaysia came second last in the way it has been handling the pandemic.
“While we have reported fewer cases than neighbours Indonesia and the Philippines, our ratio of infections, at more than 16,000 per million, is Southeast Asia's highest,” he added in a statement.
The DAP lawmaker also claimed that Muhyiddin's visit to HTAR was overdue.
“People were parked outside the emergency department five days ago from lack of hospital beds.
“You have said more beds will be made available in the ICU in the near future, more trainee doctors will be roped in and the hospital’s daily treatment complex will be used as a temporary ward.
“You know what Mr Prime Minister: these initiatives should have been done yesterday. 'Immediate ventilator addition' as you put it, Mr Prime Minister, isn’t the end of the challenges faced by the hospital.
“And please stop downplaying the real challenges by saying it was reported that the Klang GH is facing 'some difficulties such as the lack of beds in the Covid-19 treatment ward'. It is appalling, to say the least,” he added.
Calling on Muhyiddin to stop his public relations pieces on Facebook and photo-ops, Charles said the premier must do the right thing by enlisting experts who can formulate a proper pandemic mitigation plan.
“Or we won’t see an end to the mess you have put us in,” he added. - Mkini
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