Due to this, he said it had become difficult to conduct surgeries for non-Covid-19 patients, according to Malaysiakini.
He said the suspension of elective surgeries and reduction in emergency surgeries had resulted in collateral damage in the health and well-being of non-Covid-19 patients, adding that this was even for urgent and time-critical surgeries such as cancer operations.
In a virtual speech at the Malaysian Society of Anaesthesiologists and College of Anaesthesiologists Annual Scientific Congress 2021, he also said this was particularly true for hybrid hospitals dealing with both Covid-19 cases and general patients.
Noor Hisham added that it had been impossible to perform elective surgery since December 2020 and therefore the waiting list for elective and semi-elective surgeries was at an all-time high.
He said there was an urgency for the country to strategise a return to elective surgery to deal with the backlog and to provide solutions for patients waiting for non-elective surgeries.
“Malaysia has spent the last 10 months continuously trying to repurpose wards and operation theatres as well as building temporary field intensive care units (ICUs) to cope with the surge of the virus.
“The pandemic has exposed the manpower shortage and the need to train, retrain and invest in building a larger anaesthesia workforce,” he said.
Noor Hisham also said infrastructure and facilities were important, but there was a need for doctors and staff members to fill them.
He said more general anesthesiologists, medical officers and critical care nurses were needed as the shortage had limited the expansion plans of intensive care beds during the Covid-19 surge.
“There was already a deficiency in anaesthesia manpower before the pandemic. As of November 2019, there were 1,024 registered anaesthesiologists and 50 registered intensivists, with half of them in the private sector,” he said.
Noor Hisham also said it was estimated that there was a deficit of about 1,200 anaesthesiologists in 2020 in the public service and added that when the pandemic hit in 2020, there were only 560 anaesthesiologists and 21 intensivists (also known as critical care physicians) serving in the health ministry.
He said it was estimated that by 2025, there will be a deficit of 645 specialist anaesthesiologists and 87 subspecialists.
“It will take more than 10 years to overcome the shortage if the current training capacity is not increased,” he said.
Noor Hisham also noted that the pandemic is unlikely to be resolved in the next six months, adding that critical care capacity must be boosted to not only cope with Covid-19 cases but also to cater to general patients.
“The pandemic has shown the need to boost investments and manpower in the country’s healthcare system,” he said.
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