Health DG: Claims that Sabah interior hospitals lack PPE is 'fake news'
A report which claimed that there was a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals in Sabah’s interior has been called “fake news” by Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
“I do not know where these rumours come from, which hospital that is short (on PPE), there is no mention of the name (of the hospital), perhaps it is just fake news...
A report which claimed that there was a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals in Sabah’s interior has been called “fake news” by Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
“I do not know where these rumours come from, which hospital that is short (on PPE), there is no mention of the name (of the hospital), perhaps it is just fake news.
“Why not refer to the Sabah Health Department and refer to us, then we can tell you in terms of our monitoring… in terms of the usage of PPE in the respective states as well as the whole district,” Noor Hisham said in his press conference at the Health Ministry in Putrajaya today.
He echoed a similar statement by Sabah Health Department director Christina Rundi, who said she was monitoring the situation in hospitals and clinics in Sabah and that there was no shortage of PPEs.
Noor Hisham also said the current stockpile of PPE can last healthcare workers for a minimum of 29 days.
He also said RM25 million have been allocated to procure PPE as the ministry is thinking about the long-term situation.
Not only that, he said they have made preparations in Sabah since before the state elections by working with the military and the police to tighten border control.
They have also mobilised human resources and equipment to hospitals in Sabah since before the election, he added.
For example, he said Hospital Semporna has seen its operating theatres upgraded as well as the addition of a new ventilation room to treat Covid-19 patients so that they no longer have to be sent for treatment in Hospital Tawau.
“These were put in place much earlier, it is not overnight that we got the operating theatres and the ventilation room running.
“So I do not see where the flaw is,” he said.
Noor Hisham also revealed the latest bed capacity figures in Sabah, saying that there are currently a total of 8,539 beds in the state reserved for Covid-19 patients.
Of those 8,539, 1,111 are in the nine hospitals reserved for Covid-19 treatment while 7,428 beds are in low-risk quarantine and treatment centres.
Meanwhile, there are 149 beds in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) including for the treatment of non-Covid-19 patients, with 60 percent of them being used currently.
Of the 149 beds, 130 are reserved for Covid-19 patients.
There are also 193 ventilators available, with 27 percent of them in use for both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 cases.
