Private hospitals offer help to HSA

JOHOR BARU: In the aftermath of the fire that occured in the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA)'s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Tuesday, various quarters have come forward to extend a helping hand in cash and kind.
Some private hospitals have taken the initiative to establish a fund to collect public donations to be channeled to HSA in addition to aid in the form of food, drinks and essential items.
Among the hospitals are KPJ Johor Specialist Hospital and KPJ Puteri Specialist Hospital.
KPJ Johor Specialist Hospital executive director and chief executive officer Norita Ahmad said they set up an emergency donation fund since the day of the incident and managed to collect RM10,000.
Out of the total, about RM5,000 was contributed by the hospital staff and the rest from the management.
Norita said the hospital was ready to channel more aid, including patient infusion pump equipment, if required, while three beds in its ICU were placed on standby to place patients from HSA.
Meanwhile a spokesperson from the KPJ Puteri Specialist Hospital said, so far, the hospital had collected RM5,000 from its staff besides having two ambulances on standby to transport HSA patients to Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) and Permai Hospital.
Columbia Asia Iskandar Puteri Hospital general manager Rahani Yaacob also said the hospital was ready to help HSA depending on the situation and its capabilities.
The fire at the HSA South ICU claimed the lives of six critical patients while one patient was saved.
In the incident, two nurses and a physiotherapist trainee were injured due to smoke inhalation and admitted to HSI for treatment. — Bernama