Public hospitals ready for possible surge in dengue cases

PETALING JAYA: Public hospitals are prepared for the possible increase in the number of dengue cases requiring hospitalisation.

“We are optimising our resources to cater to the predicted increase in dengue cases,” said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He was responding to the availability of hospital beds in preparation for the expected rise in dengue cases.

Yesterday, The Star reported that there were 1,000 extra cases of dengue in the first week of 2016. The Health Ministry warned of the El Nino effect that could cause a 50% increase in the average number of cases.

Hisham said that so far, public hospitals were able to cope with the number of patients being hospitalised for dengue.

However, he stressed that not all cases of dengue required patients to be hospitalised, adding that close monitoring was more important for an infected person.

He said diagnosis and monitoring were often done at clinics with hospitalisation only based on referrals, usually concerning more complex cases.

When asked about the urgency at public hospitals in the preparations for the rise in dengue cases, Hisham said a plan of action was already in place.

Sungai Buloh Hospital director Dr Khalid Ibrahim said his hospital was prepared to deal with the expected rise in dengue cases.

He said the current number of available beds for dengue at the hospital was 68 but it treated an average of 49 patients daily.

He said the hospital was prepared to open another 24 beds at the old Sungai Buloh Hospital building, if the need arose.