KLANG: Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) in Klang did not clear its emergency and trauma department in order to create a certain appearance when Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin visited on Tuesday, says hospital director Dr Zulkarnain Mohd Rawi.

       He said patients were moved to the hospital’s daycare complex as the emergency and trauma department was full, adding that the complex has been converted into a ward.

       Dr Zulkarnain said this on HTAR’s Facebook page yesterday in response to allegations that patients were moved to the daycare complex to create the illusion that everything was clear and under control.

       “The viral claim that the emergency and trauma department was cleared for the Prime Minister’s visit is untrue because the department was full of patients. On July 13, 177 patients had yet to be treated by the department, ” said Dr Zulkarnain.

       Muhyiddin’s visit to HTAR was his first public appearance since he was hospitalised in Kuala Lumpur for an infection of the digestive system.

       Previously, there were reports of the dire Covid-19 situation at HTAR, with patients placed on beds outside the hospital’s emergency department due to overcrowding.

       More resources have been pumped in to boost the hospital’s operations, with the Health Ministry sending 151 additional beds and MIC donating a container to serve as a temporary morgue.