KUALA LUMPUR: The medical gas supply at the National Leprosy Control Centre (NLCC) at Sungai Buloh Hospital has been upgraded to help speed up the treatment of Covid-19 patients with breathing difficulties, says Khairy Jamaluddin.

       The Health Minister said the NLCC was currently utilised as the step-down care centre for Covid-19 cases, especially in categories one and two that did not require intensive care unit (ICU) treatment, as well as an outpatient clinic.

       "However, to ensure that we have a treatment centre with sufficient medical gas supply for each bed, we have invested in upgrading eight wards at the NLCC.

       "This will help speed up the treatment for Covid-19 patients who have breathing difficulties so that they can recover faster,” he told reporters after the launch of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Complex and NLCC Medical Gas Supply Upgrading Project at Sungai Buloh Hospital near here Friday (Feb 25).

       Also present was Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

       Earlier in his speech, Khairy said the project to upgrade the medical gas supply was part of the Health Ministry's efforts in improving public health facilities.

       "A lot of people ask what the ministry was doing during the pandemic period to ensure that the public health system can accommodate the new wave of Covid-19, many experts say we are not doing anything to improve the health system.

       "Now, we have a medical gas system provided in eight wards in NLCC, which was not available before,” he said.

       The RM4.8mil project began on Aug 16 last year and was fully completed on Oct 11 the same year.

       The project provides a medical gas system in all eight wards (with 17 beds each), a 10,000l Vacuum Insulated Evaporator tank, four-bar medical air and vacuum systems.

       He said the project also involved upgrading the water supply system in the eight wards, including four water tanks with a capacity of 8,000l each.