Health inspectors – the unsung heroes on the front lines

First in: Mastura and Shahir were hailed as heroes when a photo of them assisting a senior citizen went viral on social media.

PETALING JAYA: They trudge dirty, rat-infested alleyways and at times, even have to put up with angry folk.

That’s what health inspector Mastura Maznor and her colleagues would go through to find targeted people to screen for Covid-19.

Mastura, who is with Pejabat Kesihatan Cheras, said that while most people knew nurses and doctors as frontliners, not many were aware that the front line starts with health inspectors.

“When we receive reports of a positive Covid-19 case, we will carry out further investigations and conduct contact tracing in order to find other suspected cases.

“We will investigate the patients’ movements and who they were in contact with.

“Health inspectors face suspected Covid-19 positive patients even before they are sent for screening, so it is very high risk, ” said Mastura when contacted.

Mastura, 37, described a recent situation at the Pudu market where she had to track down foreign workers to undergo screening.

Covered in personal protective equipment (PPE), Mastura said she plodded through alleyways littered with garbage and infested with rats to find the workers, who had no passports or identification documents.

“We had to use alternative ways to find them because they were hiding. So like it or not, suited up in my PPE, I went through the alleys and just acted like I didn’t see the rats.

“With assistance from the police, we managed to find and screen them, but it was very challenging, ” she said.

Mastura and her colleague, public health assistant Shahir Razali, gained public recognition when Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah shared a picture of them helping a senior citizen get to a screening centre.

In the photo taken in Pudu on May 5, Shahir was piggybacking the elderly woman for about 50m to the centre with Mastura by the side.

“Earlier, I knocked on her door and walked with her to the screening tent, which around 400m from her house.

“But about 50m away from the tent, I saw that she had turned pale and both her legs were also bandaged, so she couldn’t really walk, ” said Mastura, who was surprised to see Dr Noor Hisham had posted the picture on social media.

“I was shocked because we were only carrying out our duty, but it was a pleasant surprise and a proud moment that our work is being appreciated, ” she said.

Mastura also shared about having to face people who got upset when told they needed to be screened for Covid-19.

“But with my 11 years of experience as a health inspector, I know that I just need to give them more explanation. I would explain why I needed to ask so many details and why I need to know who they met and where they went.

“I also tell them the consequences if they lie, and usually they would cool down and cooperate, ” she said.

Another challenge is donning PPE. Mastura said no external air could enter the suit and breathing was difficult.

“Especially during the fasting month, when we work under the hot sun in full PPE, we only depend on God to strengthen our spirit and health, ” she said.