MOH to set up National Institute of Pre-Hospital Treatment and Disaster Medicine

KUALA LUMPUR: A National Institute of Pre-Hospital Treatment and Disaster Medicine will be set up by the Health Ministry (MOH) to ensure the delivery of the best services to the people, especially during times of calamities or disasters.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said apart from that, hotspot collaboration between the ministry and St. John Ambulance Malaysia (SJAM), as well as the Malaysian Red Crescent (BSMM), established in 2014, will also be streamlined for the purpose.

"The sharing of expertise between the frontlines of the ministry and the EMRS (Emergency Medical Rescue Services) of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), such as fire safety training and disaster management, should also be continued to ensure that their duties can be carried out efficiently and safely," she said in a post on Facebook last night.

Yesterday, Dr Zaliha witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on strategic cooperation between MOH and the Fire and Rescue Department to strengthen pre-hospital and ambulance treatment (PRPA) in the country.

She said the collaboration between MOH and JBPM in improving the capacity of pre-hospital services has been established with the launch of the Emergency Air Ambulance Rescue Service (EMARS).

The collaboration between MOH and JBPM was done through the sharing of EMRS vehicle resources, the placement of MOH members with EMRS vehicles; "online medical direction" service from the Medical Emergency Coordination Centre (MECC) to EMRS and on-the-job training placement for the EMRS team at the Emergency and Trauma Department of the KKM Hospital.

-- BERNAMA