COVID-19 | The Sabah health department has requested for RM1.7 million worth of critical medical equipment for seven designated Covid-19 hospitals as the number of infections continues to spike.
In a letter replying to the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), Sabah health director Dr Christina Rundi said these medical equipment are urgently needed due to the new Covid-19 wave.
"As you know, there is an urgent need for these critical care equipment to treat severely ill Covid-19 patients, especially as we face a new wave of cases in Sabah in this pandemic," she said.
The letter sent on Oct 8, was sighted by Malaysiakini and confirmed by MMA president Dr M Subramaniam.
When contacted, Subramaniam said the MMA Foundation has collected funds to buy the equipment and will finalise the details soon.
"We are trying to support as Sabah is having a problem. We will have a meeting on Wednesday, and we will settle it," he said.
The equipment needed includes 60 units of Tecman Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PARP), six units of Mobile Negative Pressure Isolation Chamber and 22 units of High Flow Nasal Cannula Machine.
The seven hospitals with the shortages are Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Hospital Wanita Dan Kanak-Kanak Sabah, Hospital Queen Elizabeth II, Hospital Duchess of Kent, Hospital Tawau, Hospital Lahad Datu, and Hospital Keningau.
However, Subramaniam stressed that the Health Ministry (MOH) was not asking for donations.
"MOH does not ask for donations, but the people working in the government service are also our members. So when there is a shortage, then we will take up (to assist)," he said.
He added that Sabah hospitals are also facing a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when facing the recent massive surge of Covid-10 cases.
Malaysiakini has contacted Christina for a response.
This comes as the Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said frontliners in Sabah are facing a critical moment in the fight against Covid-19.
He said the healthcare system in the Borneo state is "tested" but still working fine.
Noor Hisham, in an open letter today, said MOH would continue to ensure it is enough for hospitals throughout Malaysia.
He said as of Oct 10, most of the government hospitals have enough stock of PPEs for at least one month while some hospital's PPE stocks are apparently running low.
For example, the N95 mask for Hospital Tawau was only sufficient for six days, and the plastic apron for Hospital Lahad Datu would only last for one day.
Covid amplified procurement problem
Speaking to Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity, a former government official said the real problem behind the shortage was a long-standing problem of inefficient procurement processes in the government system.
"Procurement and logistics will take a long time, and Covid-19 has just amplified this issue."
"The government needs to speed up their procurement process for Covid-19 and make sure the civil servant on the grounds received resources they need urgently."
"To be fair, it is a deep-rooted problem, nothing to do with who is the government of the day.
"Let's not point fingers but look at how we can distribute resources, streamline procurement processes and at the same time have proper anti-corruption mechanisms."
When Malaysia faced the second wave of Covid-19 outbreak in March, Noor Hisham admitted that some hospitals were lacking PPE and some hospitals had resorted to makeshift PPE.
At that time, he explained that Malaysia had ample stock of masks and PPE, but the shortage was due to distribution issues.
Speaking at the online press conference today, Noor Hisham said preliminary planning has been made and PPE stock was closely monitored on facility, state and federal levels by using a centralised database.
"There are 19 types of PPE, and the stock could last for more than two, up to three months on average. Shortages in certain areas were detected ahead of time and extra stock will be delivered immediately."
He also added that the federal government has approved an emergency procurement application for PPE for Sabah on Oct 2, given the acute situation in the state. - Mkini
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