KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian health professionals who are involved in the entire process – from screenings, quarantines to caring of patients infected with Covid-19 – must also be given equal care as well.
Universiti Malaya Health Systems and Policies senior fellow Dr Khor Swee Kheng said it was essential that Malaysia pay attention to its health system and its personnel during the outbreak period.
“One thing the government can do very specifically is to manage the fatigue in the health system. What I mean is they need to be more mindful that the people, the doctors and nurses at the frontlines, also need to be taken care of.
“This is so they do not feel burnt out, pressured or emotionally strained and they do not have traffic accident when they leave work, for example.
“The management of the fatigue of the health system and the humans in the system are very important,” said Khor during a forum titled ‘The Science, Politics and Geopolitics of Coronovirus’ organised by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia (ISIS) today.
Khor’s remarks came about after he received information of local health professionals whose work had taken a toll on them during the coronavirus outbreak.
“I have heard of health professionals in Malaysia emotionally strained by the relentless, 24/7 high stakes and high pressure of the situation that they are in right now.
“We must care for the psychology and emotional well-being of our health system’s professionals. Otherwise we will lose them.
“They will have fatigue, breakdown, nervousness and we need to care for them in a way that is sustainable,” added Khor, who is attached to Blavatnik School of Government in University of Oxford.
He said the fear and panic over Covid-19 which is present in Malaysia and other countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore was natural and at the same time it has brought about positivity as well. An example of this was that the public are washing their hands more often than and aware of their health compared to in the past.
“Fear is very natural and can also be powerful force to change our behaviour related to health including things like hand washing and vaccination. This is powerful as to how we deconstruct and imagine new ways for us to manage health,” he added.
Khor also praised Malaysia’s health system and Health Ministry’s responses to Covid-19 which he described as very transparent.
He said they had been proactive in providing many and frequent communications to the public on multiple platforms and languages in social media and traditional outlets.
“They are also transparent in the content of the communication in terms of comprehensiveness of what they had discussed and disclosed to the public. Also the speed of the disclosure as they did not really wait,” said Khor.
On the repatriation of Malaysian citizens from Wuhan, Khor said he was supportive of the government’s efforts.
He said while it is Malaysia’s duty to care for its citizens regardless of where they are, it must be done with care.
“We must also be careful because we may bring the viruses back from Wuhan but of course we can quarantine them and that is a smart solution.
“That introduces a very interesting political science angle that we must consider which is what is the duty of the Malaysian government and when does it end?
“In general, I support the repatriation of Malaysian citizens from Wuhan, with appropriate time of quarantine,” said Khor.