200 medical officers on standby at National Day parade, procession

KUALA LUMPUR: Two hundred medical officers including six specialists will be on standby at Dataran Merdeka tomorrow to attend to any emergency during the National Day parade and procession.
Kuala Lumpur Emergency and Trauma Department chief Datuk Seri Prof Dr Abu Hassan Asaari Abdullah said a medical team would be positioned strategically to provide assistance to dignitaries, participants and visitors, in conditions particularly brought on by the heat.
The medical team comprises specialists, doctors, medical assistants, nurses and ambulance drivers from Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Serdang Hospital and Ampang Hospital.
Civil Defence Department personnel and St John Ambulance and Red Crescent Society volunteers are also in the team.
Dr Abu Hassan Asaari said the team conducted an observation, taking the weather into account, on the participants and organising crew.
"We look at what the risks could be during the activities. Through our observation we see that the main factors would be the weather and fatigue among the participants and crew.
"In our analysis of the situation we found that the groups which would possibly face the highest risk of emergency are the participants, crew and dignitaries," said Dr Abu Hassan Asaari, who is also Traumatology and Orthopaedic senior consultant at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
On treatment for heat exhaustion, he said his team would apply cold turkey consisting of ice, towel soaked in cold water and intravenous drip of cold water for the patient.
"Aside from that, a fully air-conditioned treatment room is very crucial to assist the patient. We will treat the patient according to the condition, which may be mild, moderate or severe," he said.
He added that the medical team would also be on hand to provide the necessary treatment to participants during the parade and procession along the stretch from Masjid Negara to Sogo shopping mall. — Bernama