MALAYSIA’S healthcare system is reaching breaking point once again and front-line health workers are being worked to the point of exhaustion, said doctors, likening their situation to overworked migrant workers.

The last time the healthcare system was near breaking point was in January when the second movement-control order (MCO) was enforced. This time, they said, the situation is even worse as the number of Covid-19 patients is much higher.

Doctors from hospitals in the Klang Valley told The Malaysians Insight the public and the government have not learnt anything from past experience.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said there are not enough ventilators for patients and at times, personal protective equipment for medical staff are not sufficient as well.

The doctors chose to speak up after a memo from director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to his state health directors recently went viral.

Noor Hisham had told his state chiefs to prepare for an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases with serious symptoms.

He also cited worrying statistics on admissions to intensive care units (ICUs), which have increased 44% over a span of two weeks. Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan and Sarawak are seeing a marked increase in patients needing critical care.

The ICU bed occupancy rate has exceeded 70% in 22 public hospitals and up to 90% in some of them.

Doctors told The Malaysian Insight the Covid-19 situation now has taken a toll on their personal health.

“We barely get enough sleep, which is bad for our health. But when it comes to doctors, no one cares. Cardiac risk increases when you lack sleep but we continue working due to the increasing number of cases,” said a doctor who only wanted to be known as Arif.

He said doctors are working more than 12 hours at time and there are times when he breaks his fast at 10pm instead of 7.20pm as he can’t just walk away from dying patients.

“We are also very frustrated with the Covid-19 situation. To manage Covid-19 patients, doctors from other departments like dermatology, surgery or orthopaedic have been mobilised,” Arif said.

“So imagine not being able to do what you specialised in for more than a year to work in Covid-19 wards.”

He said health workers are getting about six days off a month despite the long hours they are forced to put in.

Another doctor, who wanted to be known as Sathya, said at times they have to work more than 36 hours straight.

He blamed this current situation on the lackadaisical attitude of the public who do not take the Covid-19 standard operating procedure seriously.

“Despite the MCO in place, they still want to travel and come up with all sorts of excuses.

“They do not realise that all it takes is for one infection on their travels and all those who they come into contact with, also suffer. It’s a domino effect.

“In my personal opinion, the government is struggling to create awareness among the public but the people are not responding the way they should,” Sathya said.

He said the situation has returned to square one but this time around the square has gotten bigger.

Sathya said most of the time, doctors fall asleep at the counter since they don’t want to miss anything if something does happen to the patient.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry reported 434 admissions into ICUs in the last 24 hours and out of this number, 224 patients needed respiratory support. The country also registered 3,807 cases with 17 deaths.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also announced a nationwide MCO from tomorrow till June 7.

Noor Hisham had said new variants of the coronavirus could be causing more severe infections among younger patients, compared with the earlier days of the pandemic when the worst affected were older patients and those with co-morbidities.

He also warned Malaysia could record almost 7,000 new Covid-19 cases daily by the end of May or early June if people fail to comply with the prescribed SOP.

Another doctor, Rachel, said the situation in public hospitals has always been overwhelming since the beginning of the pandemic, but now it is more serious with the rising number of cases and the shortage of beds.

Rachel said the situation is extremely bad that they have to postpone elective surgeries just to allow bed availability for Covid-19 patients.

She pleaded with the public to stay home and do their part in bringing this pandemic under control.

“If you can do it in the first MCO, why can’t you do it now?

“We are all tired but if this cycle doesn’t stop, if everyone does not comply with the SOP, then we are in a never-ending fight,” she said.

She also said the public are being selfish as they are more concerned about shopping and celebrations.

This, Rachel said, is making doctors demoralised thinking they are in this fight alone.

Some doctors have also taken to social media to plead with the public on the seriousness of the situation.

@DrAmarMOH on Twitter told the public to limit social contact and work from home if possible as ICU beds are difficult to get now and also warned that there have been 67 deaths among young adults in the past six weeks.

@Radzi_dr hoped the public would play their part in being more responsible.

“We are still in a raging global pandemic and every decision we make has its consequences.” – May 11, 2021.