PUTRAJAYA, Nov 8 — The Health Ministry is ready to face the eventuality of a second wave of floods in the country.
Director-General of Health Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry had standard operating procedures for continuous treatment to prevent flood victims from getting infected by diseases.
“The floods in Penang are short-term. What’s important is that I have instructed all state health directors to take precautionary measures and to ensure that healthcare services continue.
“We will continue to carry out control and prevention measures of infectious diseases in the flood-stricken states, especially Penang,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham spoke to reporters after opening two workshops namely the Radiation Safety Culture in Healthcare Facilities and Dose Optimisation: Analysis and Interpretation of Patient Dose Data in conjunction with the National Radiology Day at National Cancer Institute here today.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he wanted all parties to be prepared to face the possibility of the second and third waves of weather change expected to persist until February.
Dr Noor Hisham said there was no sudden increase in cases reported in any hospital and health centre involving flood-related diseases although there might be one or two cases.
“We advise the public especially those with open wounds, not to bathe in flood water because it is dirty and can cause diseases such as diarrhoea and psoriasis,” he said.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, he said the ministry was working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in raising awareness on the safety of radiation in health facilities that should be the culture among health workers.
Therefore, Dr Noor Hisham said the training sessions carried out by WHO and IAEA were crucial for medical personnel to raise awareness on radiation protection which required optimal use and minimum dose to ensure the safety of patients without compromising the medical standards and quality.
He also launched the Clinical Imaging Guidelines In Radiology at the workshops attended by about 300 medical professionals from within and outside the country. — Bernama
