Page 114 - MALAYSIA HEALTH SECTOR RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE FIELD

b. Semporna hospital - turned the impossible into possible
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sabah, Semporna was more
severely affected than other districts 36-37 . The COVID-19 situation in
Semporna worsened when there were countless COVID-19 patients
diagnosed with category 3 and above at the admission point, which required
ICU admission and respiratory support. These patients would need to be
sent to the Tawau Hospital for better clinical management. Making the
situation more critical, Tawau Hospital was also struggling to provide
enough beds for both their COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. The ICU
beds in Tawau Hospital had also reached their full capacity and could not
further accept COVID-19 cases from Semporna Hospital.

Considering the logistic transportation issues and the need for patients with
severe COVID-19 conditions to be treated in an ICU setting in Semporna,
Semporna Hospital’s function was temporarily upgraded to a specialist
hospital to make the best use of the numerous specialists from various
disciplines, such as surgeons, gynaecologists, medical physicians, and
anaesthesiologists that had been mobilised by MOH Malaysia and the NGOs.
A facility modification was carried out at a hospital building located next to
the Emergency Department of Semporna Hospital (Figure 5.10). Equipped
with negative pressure, High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, and
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respiratory machines , this newly upgraded facility could be used to treat
severe COVID-19 patients without the need to transport them to Tawau
Hospital. Subsequently, another facility upgrading project was currently
ongoing at the point of writing in another hospital building to establish a
high dependency ward with the capacity of 8 beds to enhance its hospital
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preparedness on the east coast of Sabah . In Semporna Hospital, the
operation theatre was also reopened to carry out surgical procedures,
especially for obstetric cases such as caesarean deliveries, without the need
to send them to Tawau Hospital.

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78 BATTLING THE THIRD COVID-19 WAVE IN MALAYSIA