Sense of insecurity leads to PPE wastage and shortage, says Semporna Covid-19 doctor

 By Olivia Miwil - November 5, 2020 @ 12:48pm


SEMPORNA: The perception of inadequate personal protection equipment (PPE) could likely be due to a "sense of insecurity" among health personnel, said Dr Muhammad Na'im Ab Razak.

The 33-year-old doctor, who has been battling the third wave Covid-19 infections in Semporna since September, said it is a non-issue with regards PPE shortages in the state.

He was responding to a recent online portal report of personnel complaining of having to buy their own PPEs.

"Based on my observation, the main problem is not on a lack of PPE but rather on wasting its usage at unnecessary or not high-risk areas.

"This is because there are staff that feel they need additional protection to feel safe while handling patients," he said, adding the usage of PPE should be based on risk of Covid-19 infection and the standard operating procedures such as handwashing and physical distancing should also be applied.

He said surgical masks, face shields, aprons and gloves are adequate when handling asymptomatic patients; and additional jumpsuits worth RM80 each will be used when it involves droplets; and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR) when doing airborne-related procedures that involve intubation or resuscitation.

Despite a PAPR being recommended for health personnel at high-risk medical settings, due to unavailability of the equipment, Dr Naim said he managed to keep safe after doing intubation procedures on Covid-19 patients by following the Health Ministry guidelines on type of PPEs to use such as a jumpsuit, face shield and N95 mask at that time.

He added that most infections that affect health personnel happen during the removal of PPEs (doffing) or while they gather at a closed space to rest with no physical distancing.

"Doffing is a high-risk procedure. The more complex the PPE, the higher risk it poses to health personnel while removing them as they might touch the contaminated areas on the PPE.

"Infections also happen due to improper wearing of PPE such as the mask is loose or the habit of touching the face," he said, adding the infection among medical personnel could also be acquired from the community."

Dr Naim, who is also collaborating with groups of non-governmental organisations dubbed as Semporna Heroes, also clarified that donations from the public do not mean that the Health Ministry did not do anything for the healthcare system in Sabah.

"It is always a good move to have more PPE stock rather than running out of it."




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