Malaysia

Military to set up ‘field ICU’ to stem Covid-19 surge in Penang

Modular structure to lessen burden on state’s maxed-out dedicated critical wards

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 17 May 2021 7:28AM

Military to set up ‘field ICU’ to stem Covid-19 surge in Penang — The field ICU set to be erected in Penang’s Kepala Batas Hospital can treat up to 27 critically ill Covid-19 patients who need respiratory assistance. – Noor Hisham Abdullah Facebook pic, May 17, 2021

BUTTERWORTH – A 27-bed field intensive care unit (ICU) will be set up in Penang by next week to accommodate the sudden increase in critical Covid-19 cases in the state.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said based on the current pandemic situation in Penang, there was an urgent need to set up a field ICU at the Kepala Batas Hospital to treat critical patients.

This, he said, is timely due to the increasing bed occupancy rate in Covid-19 ICUs at Penang hospitals, which has exceeded 100%.

“The Health Ministry (MoH) also found that the trend of patient admissions to ICUs in Penang has increased by more than 45% for the past two weeks, and this trend is expected to continue, especially if there are new clusters involving nursing homes and others.”

Dr Noor Hisham shared this on his Facebook page after an official visit to Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital in Kuala Lumpur for a dry run of the field ICU.

The field ICU will employ a modular concept, which can treat up to 27 critical Covid-19 patients who need respiratory assistance.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah meeting armed forces personnel at the dry run of the field ICU at Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. – Noor Hisham Abdullah Facebook pic, May 17, 2021

It will be equipped with other life support equipment such as dialysis machines for patients with kidney failure due to Covid-19 infection, and infusion pumps to support heart function.

It will also house a modular laboratory and radiology unit to provide clinical support services to critically ill patients.

He thanked the armed forces and staff of Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital for establishing the field ICU.

“Hopefully, all these efforts can help MoH in ensuring the best treatment is given to critical Covid-19 patients in Kepala Batas and its surrounding areas, thereby reducing the death rate due to Covid-19 in Malaysia,” he wrote.

Following the dry run, Dr Noor Hisham said a briefing was conducted by health services division director of the Malaysian Armed Forces Headquarters, Datuk Dr Mohammad Amirrudin Hamdan, in preparation for the launch of the field ICU set-up.

He said that the session was also attended by a delegation from MoH’s medical programme and engineering services divisions.

As of May 16, Penang has recorded a total of 23,778 Covid-19 positive cases since the start of the pandemic, including the 187 cases reported in the past 24 hours. – The Vibes, May 17, 2021