The health group said government hospitals in the Klang Valley are at a breaking point as acute care wards for seriously ill Covid-19 cases are packed to capacity and the emergency units are overflowing with patients who have difficulty breathing.

“The intensive care wards are also full. The system is no longer able to provide adequate care to 20% to 25% of patients who require high quality and timely treatment with oxygen, steroids and anticoagulants to pull through and survive this ordeal,” it said in a statement.

Among its proposals is a transfer of a portion of new category 4 Covid-19 cases to hospitals in the surrounding states since category 5 patients are too ill to be moved safely.

The group also said Putrajaya should temporarily acquire the facilities of private hospitals to handle the health crisis.

“The time of provision is now. The government has to take over a portion of the ICU beds from private hospitals in the Klang Valley so the pressure on the government’s ICUs can be relieved,” it said.

It also said the government should be prepared to borrow ventilators from countries such as Singapore, China and Australia so that hospitals can quickly expand their ICU capacity.

It said the monitoring of patients being managed at home has to be upgraded so that serious symptoms can be recognised early and appropriate and timely treatment provided.

“The Covid-19 assessment centres at district level should also enlist volunteers, including retired doctors and nurses. Each will be given a set of patients to follow up by phone every day for the first two weeks after a diagnosis of a case.

“A system of reporting should be put in place such that the volunteers can give daily feedback on their wards” it said.

The group hoped that the proposals would be implemented immediately to prevent a healthcare disaster in the Klang Valley.

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