Healthcare officers step up to ease burden on colleagues

PETALING JAYA: With their colleagues fighting the Covid-19 virus, other healthcare professionals have stepped up to shoulder more duties to help ease their burden.

Family medicine specialist Dr Imelda Idzham (pic) said as many of her healthcare colleagues were occupied, she was prepared to treat patients with other urgent medical conditions.

“I am going to work because there are many other illnesses besides Covid-19.

“The uncle with diabetes and hypertension, the auntie with migraine, the pregnant mother needing antenatal surveillance and the toddler who has an ear infection.

“I am working to help reduce the workload of my brave colleagues in health clinics all over Malaysia who have to deal with the ruthless pandemic of Covid-19,” said the 44-yearold in a Facebook post.

In her capacity, she, too, has the experience of coming face-to-face with the virus.

“I have been in direct contact with two Covid-19 positive patients and thank goodness my test results were negative,” she said, adding that the experience had been nerve-wrecking.

“My husband is understandably worried and we may come to a point where we have to make the very difficult decision of having to separate me from my family to keep them safe,” said the doctor based in a red zone in Selangor.

A mental health practitioner, Hijaz Ridzwan, also shared his experience in providing support to burnt-out frontliners.

“I’ve had senior and junior doctors break down crying because they miss their family but are scared to go back and infect them.

“I’ve talked to support staff who get panic attacks because they fear contracting the disease when cleaning the wards,” he added.

Hijaz urged his colleagues to reach out for help if they are experiencing mental health issues.