H E Dr Ahmed Mohammed al Saidi, Minister of Health, paid a visit to Royal Hospital last Wednesday to acknowledge the remarkable efforts of its medical and administrative teams in this extraordinary time of COVID-19.
Accoding to an MoH statement, Dr Saidi visited various departments including the intensive care unit, the pediatric post-surgery care unit, the critical care unit, the maternity ward, laboratory departments, pharmacy, gynecology, the isolation department of patients with coronavirus, the departments of the National Oncology Center and a number of other departments of the hospital. He also met the hospital’s administration and health workers, and listened to their suggestions, besides a number of COVID-19 patients to check on their health and the progress of the treatment process.
The health minister valued the efforts of the medical staff who are playing a major role in limiting the fast spread of the virus, including physicians, nurses, medical assistant groups, engineers, administrators, and others. He pointed out that the sultanate had started preparation for COVID-19 response since the announcement of the disease in China itself.
He noted that Royal Hospital has a good capacity to accommodate more than 150-200 intensive care beds, if necessary. Nonetheless, there are basic health services that must continue as obstetrics, gynecological services, cancer services, heart services and urgent critical operations, he said.
He also emphasised that the health and safety of the health staff was a priority and that all the required equipment, medications and preventive attire is being provided to them. Around 16 flights had been operated to China to bring in necessary equipment, reagents and medical supplies, he disclosed.
Dr Saidi assured that the sultanate currently has sufficient stocks of drugs used in all countries for this disease. Deployment of modern techniques in dealing with this pandemic is also underway to track infected cases as well as institutional and home quarantined cases, and that they are to be announced soon, the statement added.
