By Mariam Mokhtar

Three weeks ago, we were told that 33 million items of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) were available. Today, only a two-week supply remains.

On March 23, the Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a press statement to say that it had secured the supply of 33 million sets of PPEs which it would distribute within the week.

On March 24, Drs Zulkifli Ismail and Musa Nordin of KPJ Damansara Specialist Center publicized their allegation that the MOH had failed to protect medical staff.

We know that since the MOH press statement was made, Jack Ma Foundation, Alibaba Foundation, Lee Kim Yew of Country Heights Holdings, Jeffrey Cheah of the Sunway Group, the People's Republic of China (PRC), other individuals and NGOs have donated several millions of ringgits worth of PPEs. Fashion designers, Proton and other companies have started manufacturing PPEs. This means the MOH should have more PPEs than the original 33 million!

Two weeks later, on April 6, there was an urgent plea from the Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah warning members of the public not to steal PPEs from hospitals because these items were meant for health workers treating coronavirus patients.

Face masks, hand sanitizers and gloves were being taken without permission and depriving health workers of PPEs. The protective gear may be the difference between life and death for them.

On April 13, three weeks after we were told about the 33 million PPEs, the DG warned that the nation only had enough PPEs to last another two weeks.

So, has the majority of the 33 million PPEs been used? Admittedly, there are several categories of PPEs like gloves, masks, aprons and face shields.

Against this backdrop of millions of PPEs and donations to help contain the coronavirus pandemic, we read social media reports about health workers pleading for PPEs.

When the Movement Control Order (MCO) was announced, schools and colleges ordered their students to return home. This hasty decision helped to spread the disease to kampungs and towns. Meanwhile, tabligh participants returned home and infected others in their hometowns. The Sungei Buloh Hospital may be the epicenter for treatment of coronavirus, but if we are to protect our health workers, those in outlying clinics and hospitals must also have PPEs.

Conflicting news reports about PPEs add to our concern. Are health workers not being supplied with PPEs because a large portion has been stolen, or is it simply a case of non-delivery?

When videos were circulated of doctors making PPEs from rubbish bags and plastic sheets, deputy minister of health Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali was furious because he alleged that MOH's reputation had been tarnished.

Perhaps, he should put himself in the shoes of health worker and wonder if he would be prepared to risk his own safety. Dr Noor Azmi should investigate the hold-up in distribution and try to resolve this matter.

On April 8, Dr Musa repeated his allegation that bureaucracy was hampering the distribution of PPEs. He criticized the Director-General for his alleged failure to protect health workers.

Dr Musa and his team have carried out a "meticulous needs assessment" at 34 government hospitals treating coronavirus patients and distributed 6,000 PPEs to ICUs, with a further 20,000 sets to follow.

Other doctors share Dr Musa's views. Like Dr Musa, they are frustrated by the delay in supplying health workers with PPEs which the MOH imported from China and have already arrived in Malaysia. Their main concern is that the police, nurses and other front runners should be given more protection.

Dr Musa did not make his allegations lightly and urged the DG to "come down from his ivory tower in Putrajaya and visit coronavirus hospitals, Pusat Kesihatan Daerah  and Klinik Kesihatan" to see the level of protection given to medical staff on duty, and seek their views about their safety whilst treating coronavirus patients.

The DG may be doing an exemplary job of managing the national emergency and trying to contain the coronavirus pandemic, but it is possible that he is unaware that hospital workers are not adequately protected.

He receives his information from ministerial workers some of whom may be Little Napoleons delaying the distribution of PPEs for reasons of their own.

Are some PPEs being diverted elsewhere for personal gain? There is a worldwide shortage of PPEs and someone could make a lot of money from the sale of these protective equipment.

Are policy makers in the MOH rubbing shoulders with politicians? Are advisors to the Health Minister eager to create a publicity stunt for the minister, similar to other politicians who have plastered their faces on food parcels, for maximum political mileage?

If there has been any irregularities in the supply of PPEs, the guilty must by caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If they are allowed to go free, the wealthy donors will not give any more equipment or money in the event of another emergency because they do not want their donations to enrich the Little Napoleons. The rakyat will be the ultimate losers.

It is important that our fight against the coronavirus pandemic should be subject to scrutiny. The rakyat must throw off its cloak of indifference and demand answers to tough questions.

Source:

1. New Straits Times: The gravest sin

2. New Straits Times: 33 million PPEs ready for distribution, says Dr Noor Hisham

3. New Straits Times: Please don't steal our PPEs from hospitals, says Dr Noor Hisham

4. Malay Mail: UM associate professor asks for help to make PPE boxes to protect COVID-19 healthcare staff

5. Free Malaysia Today: Health chief tells why some devised their own protection gear

6. New Straits Times: PPE material suppliers urged to come forward to ensure continuous supply

7. Malay Mail: As supplies dwindle, pediatrician joins call to ensure protective gear for Malaysian healthcare workers

8. MalaysiaKini: Medics don volunteer-made PPE amid distribution woes, doctor says thanks

9. MalaysiaKini: Health DG thanks donors for helping ensure sufficient PPE for frontliner

10. MalaysiaKini: Group urges govt to engage stakeholders and ensure enough PPE supply

11. Malay Mail: Minister: Medical supplies, PPE purchased by Sarawak govt arriving from China today

12. Malay Mail: MOH probes head protector made from garbage bag in Perak

13. Malay Mail: Sunway Group shores up COVID-19 support and relief efforts

14. MalaysiaKini: Tycoon charters plane to ship masks and PPE

15. Malay Mail: PPE supply for hospitals is enough, says Health DG

16. Malay Mail: Health DG says current PPE supply can only last two weeks, calls for donation

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)