SEBERANG PERAI, May 21 — The field intensive care unit (ICU) at the Kepala Batas Hospital will undergo a dry run this Sunday before it opens for operations on Monday.
The field ICU, with a maximum capacity of 27 beds, was set up within one-and-a-half days by the Second Medical Battalion.
Commanding officer Lt-Col Dr Mohd Zamri Deraman said the dry run will include finalising patient flow, fire drills and safety drills.
“It is to make sure everything is in order and to ensure there is smooth patient flow when moving them from the hospital to the field ICU,” he said when met at the site today.
He said the field ICU will be fully operational and ready to take in patients on Monday once everything is in place after the dry run.
The field ICU was initially supposed to be operational tomorrow, but due to the nature of the set-up that involved multiple government agencies, it was delayed to Monday.
Zamri said they are working with other agencies such as the Health Ministry, Public Works Department (JKR) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad to set up the facility.
“Our part is fully completed, we are now waiting for the Health Ministry to bring in the medical equipment, such as beds and ventilators, which are coming in later today,” he said.
He said they are also waiting for JKR to set up a ramp leading from the hospital to the field ICU to allow the smooth transfer of patients.
“The army is trained to set up the medical facility within 24 hours. It is part of our war preparation training, but other agencies may take time as they are not used to our speed,” he said.
The field ICU consists of three modules that can fit four beds each and a large tent that can fit up to 15 beds.
“This means there will be 12 beds in the modules and 12 beds in the tent but the tent has capacity to fit up to 15 beds so our total capacity is 27 beds,” he said.
He said the army has set up other field medical facilities such as the ones at Padang Perdana, Kelantan, Kapit, Sarawak and the 100-bed field hospital in Tawau, Sabah.
“We have also previously set up a field operating theatre, a few years back, but this is the first time we set up a field ICU using a hybrid mode consisting of modules and tents,” he said.
He said the army is ready to mobilise and set up a field medical facility within 24 hours, especially if they send out the team in full force of about 100 personnel.
In Kepala Batas, Dr Zamri said they have only mobilised 30 personnel and five officers to set up the facility and to operate it.
“Of the five officers, two are anaesthesiologists so they will be on hand throughout to provide any assistance and guidance on the operations of a field ICU,” he said.
All of the modules and tents set up at the field ICU were also sanitised and deep cleaned twice before the medical equipment was brought in.
“We sanitised it yesterday and now we are sanitising it again before the Health Ministrys bring in the beds and other medical equipment,” he said.
When asked if the Second Medical Battalion has been asked to set up more field ICUs in the country, he said they will await orders from the government on this.
“For us, we are ready to do it anytime, we can set it up in 24 hours in any state,” he said.
The field ICU was in preparation to meet increasing numbers of critical Covid-19 patients in Penang as ICU beds for Covid-19 patients in the state are full.
