KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — Paediatrician Dr Syed Abdul Khalique is among the many healthcare workers who have joined global calls urging governments to ensure that there is sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) at this critical time in Malaysia’s Covid-19 battle.
Following concerns raised due to the shortage of PPE for healthcare workers, Dr Syed has initiated a petition via change.org urging relevant parties to guarantee the availability of PPEs for healthcare workers, in both the government and private sectors.
"Why am I so concerned?... Because I need to protect my team, consultants, specialists, MOs (medical officers), nurses, cleaners and etc.
"I need to protect the parents of other children in my wards. We are the last line of defence I say," said Dr Syed in a Facebook post today.
The petition is believed to have been initiated yesterday and has 15,753 signatures at the time of writing. The number of signatures has surpassed the initial target set at 10,000.
A new target of 25,000 signatures has been generated on the site.
Malay Mail has reached out to Dr Syed for further comment but has yet to receive a reply.
The petition calls for:
1. The government must guarantee that full PPEs are available for both government sector and private healthcare centres, at least for the next three months
2. More stringent measures to ensure that our frontliners are capable to don and doff their PPE properly. Ensure there are proper spaces where they have and can change into work scrubs, especially in Klinik Kesihatan where they are now only wearing their normal work clothing underneath the PPE because there are no scrubs in Klinik Kesihatan and no space to change.
3. Ensure availability of face masks in abundance in hospitals for the use of healthcare workers and patients
Dr Syed took to his Facebook page again today, calling for more to sign the petition.
Acknowledging that there is a shortage in some areas, a member of the Malaysian Nurses Association, who requested anonymity, said reports of healthcare workers utilising plastic sheets, bin liners and cling wrap to make PPEs are true.
However, the member was unable to offer a more detailed assessment of the current situation on the ground.
"There is a shortage in certain areas, but we are not sure what is the extent of the shortage.
"There are reports received on this and there are efforts to assist these shortages," the member said.
The member added that a group of retired nurses are also currently helping to secure supplies from those who can give up their extra PPEs that are not in use to help this shortage.
Earlier today, Malay Mail reported that doctors, nurses and other medical staff at Malaysian hospitals are treating Covid-19 patients in DIY PPEs from everyday items like dustbin liners due to a shortage nationwide.
A video of medical staff making protective suits from dustbin liners, cling wrap and plastic bags has been shared on social media, which has shocked healthcare workers.
Malay Mail’s report also mentioned that two senior doctors have written an open letter appealing to the authorities to speed up their supplies.
Datuk Dr Musa Mohd Nordin and Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, both paediatricians at private hospitals, revealed that larger hospitals like Sungai Buloh Hospital may have a sufficient supply of PPEs, but the same cannot be said of the many other hospitals, including private ones.
They urged the National Security Council to immediately mitigate the PPE shortage.
At present, 19 medical frontliners have come down with Covid-19, of which 11 are now warded in intensive care units.
