KUALA LUMPUR – A frontliner’s account of what transpired in the aftermath of the light rail transit (LRT) collision last night has gone viral on social media.
Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) disaster medicine specialist Dr Alzamani Mohammad Idrose said at the time of the incident – 8.33pm – there were only three specialists on duty at the hospital’s emergency ward.
“About half an hour before I came in (to the hospital), (specialist) Dr Liyana was shocked to receive three critical patients that came together. Five minutes after that, 12 ambulances arrived.
“Dr Liyana immediately contacted our department head, Datuk Dr Mahathar (Abdul Wahab) and anxiously reported the situation.”
Dr Alzamani said after Dr Mahathar told Dr Liyana to take a deep breath, he then gave a short briefing on the the situation, saying the emergency call centre had informed them of 47 incoming patients.
He added that, although Dr Liyana was constantly teased by her colleagues because “disasters” often strike while she is on duty, the specialist is always “lively”, despite being heavily pregnant.
Despite the scores of emergency cases coming in at the same time, Dr Alzamani said the department could handle the patients as long as it did not exceed 50 people. They also took into account the possibility that some patients could be sent to other hospitals that did not have specialists, such as neurosurgeons.
In the end, all 47 victims were accepted by HKL.
“The first thing I did when I entered work was to understand the situation. After this was done and after obtaining all the information, I began to think about the placement of patients in each zone. We needed to expand every zone.”
Dr Alzamani’s Facebook post, which was shared on the Health Ministry’s official account, received more than 70,000 likes and 50,000 shares at the time of writing.
He said the patients were organised according to yellow and red zones, and separated from Covid-19 patients, adding hospital coordinators had also set up canvas beds in the additional zones.
“I knew that all the officers on the afternoon shift were tired and ready to go home. But they were very resilient and patient. There was not one face that showed disdain. Instead, they looked to be in high spirits.”
He said, aside from the three specialists, another four specialists had to be recalled. He added that another emergency specialist, Dr Shah Jahan from Sg Buloh Hospital, also came to help.
Dr Alzamani said the X-ray department was opened to speed up the process of examining victims’ injuries, while neurosurgeons, anaesthesiologists, orthopaedists and other surgeons also joined the effort to treat the wounded.
“While this was happening, existing Covid and non-Covid patients in other departments were being treated as usual.”
He said by midnight, a total of 67 patients were admitted in the department and the team had worked efficiently, while emergency workers at the accident site had stood down at 11.37pm.
He said of the 67 patients, six were in critical, 19 were partially critical, while 42 others were non-critical victims.
By 1am, all patients had been examined and had their treatments planned, and by 1.25pm, the team held a debriefing session, he said.
“All were happy because this incident was handled very efficiently due to the cooperation of all in HKL. We allowed all afternoon shift workers to return home.”
He added that Dr Mahathar had thanked all involved and declared a “stand down” at 1.38am, adding that the incident coincided with many arriving at the hospital with Covid-19 complications.
“Disasters like these do not select time and can happen during a pandemic and worsen the situation.” – The Vibes, May 25, 2021
