Medical staff leave to be cancelled as COVID-19 cases spike in Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY: The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health has held a meeting with senior officials of various departments in the ministry to discuss the issue of the steady rise in the number of Covid- 19 infections and admissions at the Jaber Hospital and the Mishref Fairgrounds Field Hospital, cases of occupancy and injuries in Jaber Hospital and Mishref Field Hospital, reports Al-Anba daily, quoting reliable sources.

The sources told the daily the most important recommendations that the ministry is going to implement is to stop leave for all medical staff for a month from next Sunday in all hospitals, stopping work at the Sabah Al-Ahmad Kidney Center from Sunday, stop elective procedures for internal departments such as endoscopy and others.

The recommendation also includes raising the clinical capacity of the special Covid care wards in government hospitals and to help cover the shortage of medical personnel, the sources said coordination between the anesthesia and the surgical departments is a must.

This is in addition to the fact that trainee doctors and board doctors will be redistributed by the Secretary- General of Medical Specializations, and some optional operations will be legalized in the private sector, such as plastic surgery and others, to reduce the transfer of complications to the government hospitals.

The sources confirmed that these measures will be in effect for a month, which is the expected time for the sharp increase in Covid 19 cases. The sources expect the recommendations to be implemented within the next two days.