CAN MALAYSIA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM COPE WITH THE RISE IN CASES?
In her statement last Thursday, the health minister said that the rising trend in COVID-19 patient admissions will not burden the health services and that hospitals will still operate as usual.
According to the health ministry, 34.4 per cent of ventilators, 62 per cent of ICU beds, and 65.9 per cent of hospital beds were being utilised in the country as of Apr 8.
Dr Sanjay Rampal, a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Malaya told CNA: “We appear to have more than sufficient capacity to manage the burden associated with the current wave of COVID-19 infection.
“We should continue close surveillance of this disease and ensure that the public health services on the ground have enough resources and capacity to prevent and control COVID-19.”
He added that based on current levels of community transmission of COVID-19, mass masking may not be a cost-effective public health intervention. Dr Rampal said that it is more important to monitor the healthcare utilisation of the more severe cases.
Private hospitals are also prepared to face a COVID-19 wave in the event that it occurs, said Dr Singh in his Monday statement, though he warned that ramping up the capacity could be a challenge.
“Currently our private hospitals are full of other types of medical conditions and with the ongoing shortage of nurses, the possibility of increasing capacity is a challenge.
“Our hope is to have a solution from the government which is yet to materialise,” he said.