Wee (third right), Dr Ngien (fifth right) and others pose during the handover ceremony. – Photo by Tan Song Wei
KUCHING (June 20): The Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations (SFCA) today donated 10 units of high-flow oxygen devices worth RM226,000 to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
SFCA president Dato Richard Wee said they solicited various donors for the donation to happen in a bid to reach out to critical patients.
The donors were Supreme Cold Storage Sdn Bhd, Hubline Bhd, BNDM Inc. Holdings Sdn Bhd, Ibraco Bhd, Home-Max Design Sdn Bhd, Dayacrop, SMK Kuching High alumni of the year 1986, Alice Chong (two units) and Kuching Padawan Association.
“We have been working closely with SGH. Every time there is a need for assistance, we will try to see what we can do.
“Due to the recent increase of Covid-19 cases, SGH requested for some oxygen devices and we managed to request for some donors who responded to our call,” he said when met by journalists during a simple handover ceremony at the SGH here.
It is learnt that each of the high-flow oxygen device costs RM22,600.
According to Wee, this is major donation given the high value of the devices.
Also met was SGH director Dr Ngien Hie Ung, who thanked the SFCA for the donation and its assistance since the pandemic outbreak last year.
“I must thank the SFCA which has been very, very helpful since last year. This is a bigger way of the federation helping us,” she said.
Dr Ngien said they preferred the high-flow oxygen devices to ventilators given that the former helps provide oxygen to high-risk, terminally ill and elderly patients, but the latter, once used, would mean the patients could not breathe on their own.
“We don’t like ventilator so much because through ventilators, the patients don’t breathe on their own.
“With high-flow oxygen devices, we give the patients a chance to survive, they will only have to go through a certain period to survive,” she added.
Dr Ngien said there were some other individuals who had donated high-flow oxygen devices to the SGH.
“These machines are not as costly as ventilators but very helpful.”
Asked if these high-flow oxygen devices are also required at the Covid-19 Quarantine and Low-risk Treatment Centre (PKRC), she said: “At PKRC, we use oxygen concentrator for patients who are recovering.”