Fewer deaths, simpler SOPs, booster dose policy among KJ’s goals

 

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has issued the targets for his first 100 days in office, the first minister to do so.

PETALING JAYA: Reducing the number of Covid-19 deaths outside hospital and easing the pressure on intensive care units, as well as addressing the backlog of elective non-Covid-19 surgeries are among the priorities for health minister Khairy Jamaluddin over the next 100 days.

In an interview with members of the media, Khairy outlined several targets that he will aim to fulfil, the first minister to do so after Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob issued the challenge to his Cabinet to meet set performance targets for their first 100 days in office.

First off, he aims to ensure that 80% of the adult population are fully vaccinated while also rolling out vaccines for teenagers aged 12 to 17, starting in Sarawak.

He will also seek to reduce the use of Covid-19 ICUs to 70% of the total capacity and the take-up of normal beds to 50%, adding that the former was a proxy indicator of the seriousness of patients’ conditions.

“We will ensure that there will be no states with insufficient ICU capacity. We will send field ICU units to states that need greater ICU capacity for Covid-19 patients. We will also ensure that there is no shortage of oxygen cylinders in healthcare facilities.

“We will work to reduce BID cases. Right now, it makes up 21% of total deaths, we want to reduce it to less than 15%,” he said. (BID cases are those “brought in dead” to hospitals.)

He said virtual Covid-19 Assessment Centres will be set up in states outside the Klang Valley while health teleconsultations will be increased by 30% in 40 health clinics for non-Covid-19 cases.

Elective surgeries – “For the backlog of elective surgeries that have been postponed because of Covid-19, we will reduce the backlog by 20% in the first 100 days by outsourcing to private hospitals, among others.”

Dental services – He said 70% of dental clinics will resume all dental services that have been put off, including aerosol-generating procedures, adding that this was a part of getting the healthcare sector back to normal post-Covid-19.

Simpler SOPs – Khairy also pledged to work closely with the National Security Council to come up with a framework of simpler SOPs within 100 days, as the nation shifts toward an endemic phase.

Mental health – To address mental health in the nation, he said the health ministry will be embarking on a campaign to raise greater awareness on the issue, citing a severe lack of awareness of mental health support lines.

“We will ensure that we have a campaign so that all Malaysians know that mental health services are available. I have also asked for our psychosocial support services capacity to be increased by 10% to deal with calls and referrals.

“We will also increase the number of NGOs involved in advocating for mental health. We will provide financial support to 20 more NGOs, on top of the 20 already with us, in advocating and assisting people on mental health,” he said.

Booster vaccine doses – Khairy pledged to announce a booster-dose policy and implementation plan, adding that this would most likely begin early next year, and to release the ministry’s findings on its Ivermectin clinical trials. The booster-dose policy will also cover whether to mix-and-match Covid-19 vaccines or not, he said.

Contract doctors – “I will also ensure the best solution can be achieved over the issue involving contract doctors. Some details have yet to be announced as it’s still being discussed with the treasury and public service department. But within this 100 days, God-willing, we will see this issue resolved,” he said.

Contact tracing – Khairy promised to “rapidly and vastly” improve the ministry’s contact tracing measures to a more automated system amid the pandemic phase, while a national testing and tracing policy would be in place for the endemic stage.

More self-test kits – The ministry will be adding 14 more self-test kits to the list of devices approved and to offer more choice and competition, which he hoped would help drive prices down. The purchase of kits will also be liberalised so that consumers may purchase them from grocery stores, for example, instead of just pharmacies and healthcare facilities.

MySejahtera – A new feature will be added to the MySejahtera application within 100 days so that former Covid-19 patients can report any long-term effects they were suffering, also known as long Covid.

Free screenings – He will also aim to provide better protection for vulnerable groups and the B40 during the endemic phase, including free Covid-19 screenings and self-test kits.

Sugar tax – “In terms of non-communicable diseases, we will increase the types of sweet drinks that will be taxed under the sugar tax, so that the coverage is wider than what we have now.

Stunted children – “I will also form a task force to look at stunting among children and produce an action plan within my first 100 days on what we can do to address malnutrition among children.” - FMT