RANTAU PANJANG: The state health department is taking the initiative to stay on top of their game following trying times experienced during the 2014 floods.
Since the floods hit the state last Saturday, the department has called on patients, in particular pregnant women who are due to deliver in December and kidney patients to be hospitalised.
This is due to the fact that when the flooding took place in 2014, high-risk patients were unable to receive treatment in time, apart from floodwaters inflicting damage on some of the hospital equipment.
State health director Datuk Dr Ahmad Razin Ahmad Mahir said the calls have resulted in 34 expectant mothers and 12 kidney patients to be hospitalised at several hospitals in the state.
"We have to take this precautionary step to prevent any untoward incident," he said when met at the SK Gual Tinggi flood relief centre here today.
Ahmad Razin said apart from that, the department has also stationed medical teams at flood relief centres to assist the evacuees.
"The teams were deployed to the centres where the number of victims is more than 1,000 people. In Rantau Panjang alone, we have set up three teams, one each in SK Rantau Panjang, SK Gelang Mas and here at SK Gual Tinggi," he said.
He also stated that to date, the department has not received any reports on flood-related diseases or that of food poisoning cases at flood relief centres.
"However, our staff will to monitor the situation. In the 2014 flood, there was a slight increase in typhoid and leptospirosis cases.
"This will be our main focus after this flood season. Apart from, we will also ensure all wells are treated using the chlorine,” he said.