KUANTAN: The Covid-19 crisis has resulted in Malaysians from various backgrounds joining hands to assist medical frontliners prepare personal protective equipment (PPE) to help overcome the shortage.
Some have chosen to cut and sew woven fabric to prepare hand and foot protection gears while many opted to produce do-it-yourself (DIY) face shields.
However, some of the PPEs especially face shields were not prepared according to standards resulting in the protection gears to become "unusable" when delivered to health clinics and hospitals.
There were also occasions when the A4 transparent sheets were damaged, over-sized face shield and the foam padding not correctly attached forcing the medical staff to either dispose or use it nevertheless due to shortage.
Dr Ahmad Mahyuddin Mohamed based at the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah hospital in Temerloh said to avoid wastage and ensure the safety of the medical staff, it was best for those preparing the protection gears to refer to the relevant parties to meet the stipulated specifications.
"Malaysians should be commended for coming forward to contribute and assist during these tough times. However, when it involves the PPEs or special equipment including face shield for the medical staff, I would personally advice them to refer to us to ensure it meets the specifications.
"This is to ensure the safety of the medical staff and avoid wastage if the PPE cannot be utilised," he said.
Meanwhile, State Religious Affairs, Education and Health Committee chairman Datuk Seri Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad said the state government cannot afford to be selective and will receive the PPEs provided to them.
"We will usually receive all the PPEs prepared by volunteers and cast aside those which are not suitable ....maybe it could be deployed for other purposes," he said.
Meanwhile a nurse who declined to be named said generous Malaysians have contributed the DIY PPEs and the department was grateful for their assistance.
"It is wrong to complain as Malaysians are doing their best to assist the medical staff but we hope they can follow the standards set by the Health Ministry so that our job will be much easier. There are times we need to modify the faulty face shields," she said.