KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) is capable of setting up two more field hospitals to accommodate the increasing number of Covid-19 patients, said Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said this was based on the existing number of ATM healthcare personnel.
“Although ATM currently has three field hospitals, namely in Tawau, Sabah; Kapit, Sarawak; and Kepala Batas, Penang, we are capable of setting up two more field hospitals.
“Actually, ATM can set up more field hospitals, but to do that, we will require additional staff, namely 30 doctors and 100 paramedics,” he said at a virtual media conference after a working visit to Pharmaniaga LifeScience in Puchong here today.
Ismail Sabri said that with the additional personnel, ATM would be able to construct more field hospitals as well as add other health equipment and supplies for the management of Covid-19.
“I have requested this (additional doctors and paramedics) from the government for consideration…let’s wait for a decision from the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Penang, the Kepala Batas field hospital is expected to start taking in patients on Tuesday after completing a dry run tomorrow.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who visited the hospital today, said there were many applications to set up more field hospitals nationwide, among them being Negri Sembilan and Kelantan.
“We will look at needs before we add more. We will use existing space to be turned into intensive care units (ICU) for category 4 and 5 Covid-19 patients.
“What we are doing is adding the number of ICU beds, but it is not a solution because we expect the cases to increase in the next two weeks,” he said, while advising the public to practise self-discipline by staying at home. – Bernama, May 23, 2021
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