Grit and horror: a rare glimpse into Sg Buloh Hospital’s Covid-19 emergency ward

KUALA LUMPUR – A special news report by national broadcaster RTM last night provided a rare glimpse into emergency and trauma wards, showcasing health workers in a packed hospital struggling to save droves of dying Covid-19 patients.

The exclusive segment by reporter Mohan Chinnasamy showed the strenuous daily routines of dozens of public health workers checking on the condition of patients at Selangor’s Sg Buloh Hospital, one of the busiest in the country.

According to Mohan, the hospital’s nurses were seen rigorously observing and treating the critically ill, with any changes in conditions reported to doctors on duty.

With the recent skyrocketing number of virus cases, the hospital’s management has taken new approaches, such as reorganising treatment and observation areas, and adding more beds to accommodate the surge.

The ward is separated into two zones: yellow for those in semi-critical condition and red for those in critical condition.

Aside from the constant observation of patients, the health workers undertake their tasks under strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), donning full personal protective equipment (PPE), a heaty discomfort that must be endured around the clock.

Sg Buloh Hospital emergency ward specialist Dr Mohd Zul Ikram Abd Mutalib said the department receives nearly 100 patients per day.

He said on average, the hospital sees 70 to 80 new cases sent to the yellow zone, and about 10 to the red zone on a daily basis.

Almost all the patients in the two zones, Dr Zul Ikram said, require breathing assistance.

Meanwhile, Sg Buloh Hospital director Dr Kuldip Kaur Prem Singh, who was also interviewed in the segment, pleaded with Malaysians to help frontliners by practicing self-lockdown.

“Look at our health workers; they are very tired and need Malaysians to follow SOPs that we have prepared,” she said. 

“It has been more than a year that we have been fighting (Covid-19) and we have not seen a decline in cases.”

The full news feature can be viewed here. – The Vibes, June 2, 2021