KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — The Ministry of Health is mulling several concepts to prevent congestion at government hospitals and clinics in the long-term fight against the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Its director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said among its considerations are expanding house visits for patients, conducting virtual clinics, setting appointments for future treatments and starting dual shifts for its medical personnel.

To ensure adherence of social distancing at public hospitals and clinics, he said the ministry may ask patients to come only at an appointed time for treatment.

“This will reduce the numbers of patients and visitors waiting at the lobbies,” he said in his daily briefing on the Covid-19 situation in the country today.

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He also said the ministry is planning to expand its online consultations with patients, also known as virtual clinics, nationwide.

The service was set up in May 2019 in five locations: Putrajaya, Selangor, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak.

Dr Noor Hisham said another consideration is to send medicine to patients at their homes instead of self-collection as is the current practice.

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“And also considering whether we can visit the patients at their house, like the community in rumah panjang.

“House visits have already been practised for patients who recently delivered. We will review whether this can be applied to other patients, such as those suffering from strokes and don’t have transportation,” he added.

Dr Noor Hisham also said the ministry is also discussing having two shifts for its medical staff.

“We suggest having two shifts — morning and evening — for our staff at the government hospitals and clinics in order to avoid congestion. We will start with clinics which are big and congested,” he said.

“These are the concepts which have been suggested and considered for implementation. We will see how we can bring our services to the patients, either by virtual or visiting them,” he added.