Health D-G: PPE supply can only last 2 weeks, donations are welcome

The Ministry of Health is asking various parties including NGOs to donate personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical frontliners that handle COVID-19 cases. According to Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, more PPE supplies are needed as it is one of the disposable items used daily and Malaysia’s current supply is sufficient to last at least another two weeks.

He shared that the use of PPE has risen by 2 to 10 times more than the normal consumption. When it comes to ventilators, the D-G shared there are currently 956 units which are sufficient at the moment. If organisations want to donate, there’s no need for more ventilators and he welcomes more PPE donations to the ministry.

In terms of nationwide availability, he said that the ministry has a system that can look into the level of supply at the states and hospitals nationwide. He added that the PPE can be acquired in three ways which are by bulk in central procurement or at the state level and by donations from NGOs. The procurement of PPE is still ongoing and the required equipment will be distributed to each state and hospitals.

PPEs are essential for healthcare worker and some have to resort to using plastic bags when they are in short supply. During the movement control order, individuals, businesses and even designers have produced protective gears such as PPE outer garments and face shields to help our medical frontliners.

There are also other initiatives to help reduce the usage of PPE such as “Makcik Kiah” the autonomous robot. The robot can help deliver food and medicine to patients, and this minimises exposure for medical staff. At the moment, it is currently deployed at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM) to distribute meals for quarantine patients in category 1 and 2.

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