More than 3,000 students in Pasir Gudang receive psychological support

KULAI, July 27 (Bernama) -- More than 3,000 students in Pasir Gudang who experienced breathing difficulties and vomiting, believed to be caused by pollution last month, have been receiving psychological and trauma support.

Johor Health director Dr Selahuddeen Abdul Aziz said the affected students were from 50 schools around Pasir Gudang including Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar, which was the first to be affected by the incident.

“It involves students from primary and secondary schools and they receive treatment from psychologists from five hospitals including the Sultan Ismail Hospital, Sultanah Aminah Hospital and the Permai Hospital, Johor Bahru,” he told reporters after launching the Discover Medicine Road Tour programme here today.

Selahuddeen said among the treatment methods provided to all the students were interactive activities and methods in dealing with trauma.

He said the psychological support had been carried out continuously following the incident of chemical contamination in Sungai Kim Kim.

“This effort is not a one-off as there are several processes involved and students are provided with different interactive activities as each of them experiences trauma differently. Hence, the activity will be based on the evaluation by the psychologists,” he said.

Earlier, commenting on the road tour, he said that 20 teams including pharmacists and community leaders would visit 102 chronic patients in Kulai to provide advice on proper medication storage and dosage.

-- BERNAMA