Bujang (right) inspects the site for the field hospital with Health and army personnel.
KAPIT (May 4): The field hospital being set up at Dewan Masyarakat Melayu Kapit in Bletih is expected to begin operations on Friday.
When contacted, Kapit Disaster Management Committee deputy chairman and Kapit Deputy Resident Galong Luang said an initial 100 beds are planned for the field hospital.
“Field hospital is to cater for those patients who were admitted for various sicknesses. These patients are less critical.
“The critical patients are still to be placed at Kapit Hospital. The purpose is to lessen the burden at Kapit Hospital due to the increasing number of Covid-19 patients detected,” he said.
Photo shows the exterior of the hall which will house the field hospital.
Galong said the field hospital would be jointly managed by army medical officers and staff from the Health Department.
He pointed out that the 135-bed Kapit Hospital is caring for critically ill Covid-19 patients, who were admitted to the intensive care unit or required respiratory aid.
He added the quarantine centres at Kapit Civic Centre, Bletih Stadium, Youth and Sports Hostel, and Rumah Temuai 2 were completely occupied.
Kapit engineer Bujang Kanang, Kapit Health officers, and army personnel were seen at community hall to inspect the site yesterday afternoon.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba had said yesterday the Ministry of Health is in talks with the Defence Ministry on the setting up of field hospitals in Kelantan and Sarawak.
He said there was a need to set up the field hospitals to accommodate non-Covid-19 related cases so that the burden of the hospitals dealing with Covid-19 patients could be reduced.