Siva Selan in Community News On July 21, 2021, 4:50 pm

“We’re Forced To Choose Younger, Healthier Patients,” Malaysian Doctor Says Hospitals Are Overloaded

Malaysian doctor says hospitals are overloaded with Covid-19 patients

It’s been more than a week since Malaysia started seeing daily Covid-19 cases in the five figures. As we continue to battle against the pandemic, many have come forth to shed light on the waning condition of the country’s healthcare system.

Recently, a Malaysian doctor shared how hospitals are overloaded with Covid-19 patients and the difficulties healthcare workers face dealing with thousands of cases each day in a viral video. She also called out ignorant Malaysians who flout Covid-19 SOPs and urged everyone to stay home during the pandemic.

Doctor shares experiences from the ward and how the healthcare system is collapsing

Image credit: @dhivyadhyana

On 16th July 2021, Malaysian doctor @dhivyadhyana took to social media to share her experiences of handling Covid-19 cases in Malaysia. In a 10-minute-and-16-second video, she tells how doctors in Covid-19 wards are exhausted by the surging number of daily cases and are “forced to choose” patients when providing medical facilities and treatment.

Dr Dhivya Dhyana starts the video by talking about a family of five who tested positive for Covid-19 who did not know that they were all admitted to the same hospital. The family members who live apart from each other are believed to have contracted the disease from a previous family gathering they held for someone’s birthday.

Referring to this incident, Dr Dhivya points out how many Malaysians still think it’s okay to simply visit their friends and family members during the pandemic when the healthcare system of the country is overwhelmed by the number of patients with a lack of medical facilities.

“We’re seeing daily cases of 8,000, 9,000, 11,000 and we’re not in a position where we can cater to the numbers anymore. Our demand is far more than what we can supply. We’ve not enough wards, we’ve not enough beds, [and] we’ve not enough space to put patients. We’ve got hundreds of patients waiting in the emergency department… waiting for a bed for days,” she said, adding that she has heard of stories of patients collapsing even before they get a chance to be admitted in the ward.

At such a devastating period, Dr Dhivya also shares how doctors are now “forced to choose younger, healthier patients” who have a higher chance of surviving the disease compared to frail, older patients with health issues although they require proper care and support.

A wake-up call for ignorant Malaysians who flout SOPs

Image credit: Noor Hisham Abdullah

Dr Dhivya’s video has since gone viral, racking up over 300,000 views on Instagram. Towards the end of the video, she urges people who are deliberately violating Covid-19 SOPs to be responsible citizens and avoid unnecessary travels during the pandemic.

She says a lot of patients who are currently coming into the hospital for Covid-19 treatment admit that they have been travelling prior to contracting the virus from someone or somewhere. She also reminded Malaysians to stop pointing fingers at the loopholes in the current system and start playing their part in flattening the Covid-19 curve such as getting vaccinated and doubling up personal protection.

“I don’t think we’re doing enough or I think we are taking it too lightly because everyone is just out and about,” she added.

Malaysian doctor says hospitals are overloaded with Covid-19 patients

Dr Dhivya is laudable for speaking up against this issue and for sharing her thoughts on what goes into the real fight against the pandemic.

We hope her wise words will shed light on the importance of adhering to SOPs during this difficult time. As responsible citizens, we should all be working together to ease the burden of our healthcare workers by avoiding unnecessary travel during the pandemic.