Hospital situation is far worse than PM shatting bricks

HKL doctors raise red flag over Covid-19 crisis

PETALING JAYA: Doctors in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) are performing procedures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the floor, as the hospital capacity has been stretched beyond its limit.

Sounding the alarm over the Covid-19 situation, one doctor said in an Instagram post that HKL’s emergency department had insufficient beds, even canvas ones, to accommodate the influx of patients.

The doctor added that all of the hospital’s eight wards were full and there were not enough ventilators to go around, adding that some medical officers have had to “play God” by deciding who should be given ventilators first.

He said Hospital Sungai Buloh had also breached capacity and was not accepting referrals, which had compromised patients requiring geriatric care.

Another medical officer recalled that one procedure had to be carried out on the floor to save a patient who had difficulty breathing.

“This war has really gone too far. People are dying every day and it’s really depressing to see and decide who needs to go first,” they said.

“People come asking for help to save their family members when we ourselves are already hopeless. We can only do our best but unfortunately our best will never be enough.”

A picture on social media showing a medical officer spreading canvas on the floor of HKL.

One Instagram user, also a doctor at HKL, said patients had to wait their turn for treatment while seated in wheelchairs because of the lack of beds.

“There are 111 patients stranded in the emergency department because the wards are full, with 15 ventilated patients and 40 of them positive (for Covid-19).

“Some patients have to share oxygen with others because there aren’t enough oxygen tanks to cater to all.”

Speaking to FMT on condition of anonymity, a HKL doctor said it was “highly likely” that the social media posts were made at the hospital.

“It has been like this or been as busy as this for some time. Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) in Klang has it worse,” he said, citing a physician based there.

Another HKL doctor said there was no need to question anyone about the authenticity of the social media post, because “the answer is already there”.

The doctors added that HKL was not the only government hospital facing such a dire situation.

FMT has reached out to HKL director Dr Heric Corray for his comment.