The Klang General Hospital - Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) has been overburdened since June. With multiple negative new reports and traumatic accidents, the frontliners had to face tremendous pressure while maintaining their professional composure. This has taken a serious toll on their mental health and as many as 162 frontline doctors and nurses had to receive psychological counseling.

Dr. Hariyati, a psychologist from the Malaysian Medical Association, said that so far, more than 162 frontline staff from Klang General Hospital have received mental support and psychological therapy provided by the Malaysian Medical Relief Society (MERCY Malaysia).

Dr. Zulkarnain, the director of HTAR, pointed out that the hospital is doing its best to reduce the stress and burnout of its employees, which includes letting them take one day off every three days and encouraging them to seek mental support and therapy from the hospital's internal psychotherapists.

"However, some hospital staff were reluctant to reach out for help as they worry about the backlash that they may receive if they seek help from within the hospital system."

Since late June, news reports and social media have been flooded with patients lying on the floor waiting for beds, including stories about extra beds being set up outside of their emergency department to accommodate more patients.

The head of the emergency department of HTAR, Dr. Ahmad Dazuddin, disclosed that as the epidemic worsened, the emergency department was quickly overwhelmed by the number of patients who had contracted the virus. There wasn't enough time or resources for the frontliners to prepare and deal with the excessive number of patients who needed treatment for COVID-19.

He said that the situation at the emergency department was very chaotic, with a large number of patients waiting in line for treatment every day, including as many as 200 people at one time.

"These 200 patients all had different stages of COVID-19. They cannot receive treatment right away and can only wait in line."

He pointed out that the difference between the fourth wave of the epidemic and the previous symptoms of COVID-19 is that it is impossible to predict how fast the disease will worsen, which makes it difficult for doctors to find and provide adequate oxygen supply.

"At that time, not all medical care had been vaccinated against the coronavirus. However, I still encourage all my colleagues and frontline personnel in the department to try to overcome the fear of being infected and the fear of bringing the virus to family members, relatives and friends and continue to work."

On the other hand, the hopsital is facing the dilemma of shortage of manpower. As some nurses must be isolated after close contact with COVID-19 patients, the remaining nurses has to take care of 20 patients each.

A nurse revealed to Bernama that she felt overwhelmed by the worsening of the epidemic during July and August. It made her even more depressed when she saw negative reports criticizing the frontliners and healthcare on social media and news reports. 

She sighed: "The outside world simply cannot understand our situation."

Forensic doctor DR. Nur Ayutimasery revealed that although the Department of Forensic Medicine handles deaths every day, some cases of COVID-19 still pose a heavy burden to the forensic doctors. For example, if a married couple had passed away, the medical staff would need to face their 11-year-old child that has been left behind. 

She pointed out that this case occurred in July. The parents died of the coronavirus and the only person they could contact was the 11-year-old son. Finally, the medical nurse managed to find the child's uncle to go through the formalities for corpse recognition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on our mental health. Some of us are able to cope but some others need extra support. If you know someone who needs help or if you have considered suicide, reach out to someone you trust or seek professional help.

MERCY Malaysia Helpline is available at 03-29359935

Operating hours are from 8am - 5pm (Monday - Friday) and 8am - 1pm (Saturday). 

Please remember that you are not alone. 

Reference Links - 
[1] Oriental Daily 
[2] MERCY Malaysia