Health Ministry Still Needs Your Donations Of PPE For Medical Frontliners
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The Health Ministry is still encouraging donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical frontline personnel treating Covid-19 patients.
According to the health director-general, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, contributions of PPE is still needed as it is one of the daily used disposable items and urged various parties, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to continue their donations.
The use of PPE has risen by two to 10 times more than the normal consumption.
Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah
He said this in contrast to ventilators, which are not disposed of after use, and thus were sufficient in number so far.
We have enough ventilators, there are 956 units, and there is no need for more ventilators. But not so with the PPE, if NGOs want to donate, please donate PPE to us (ministry). We are still welcoming PPE donations.
Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah
He explained that the ministry had a system they used to monitor their PPE inventory in states and hospitals nationwide, and added that they have been acquiring PPE through three channels: in bulk by central procurement, state-level procurement, and donations from NGOs which are then distributed to each state and hospitals.
What is important is that we have to continue to procure the PPE. So far, we have enough to last for at least another two weeks.
Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah
Previously, local designers and prison inmates helped the health ministry by sewing and supplying PPE to the government when hospitals reportedly ran out and had to make PPE out of plastic bags.
Besides the PPE issue, Dr Noor Hisham also informed the press that 65 retired physicians and more than 1,000 retired nurses have volunteered to join the ministry as frontliners amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
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