Hospital and down payment<\/p>\n
This is I'm afraid another cliche story of hospitals in
\nIndonesia, but still amusing anyway. You may have heard that:
\nwithout money, don't even think about entering a hospital in
\nIndonesia, no matter what condition you are in.<\/p>\n
I never thought I would experience this rumor myself in the
\nnear future. However, I fell over while covering a violent
\ndemonstration in front of a political party office in Cikini,
\nseveral weeks ago and was taken to the nearest hospital by a
\ncolleague. As a reporter for a broadcasting station, I do possess
\ngenerous health insurance.<\/p>\n
My friend told me that my blood pressure was hardly measurable
\nand my heartbeat very weak. But still the hospital asked Rp 3
\nmillion as down payment before I could receive any treatment. So
\nI was abandoned for hours, without any doctors checking my
\ncondition, before I could pay the money.<\/p>\n
After some time my friend finally threatened staff from the
\nhospital's administration claiming that he would expose the
\nhospital's bad bureaucracy through the mass media if I were not
\ngoing to be treated soon. The hospital initiated treatment when a
\nguarantee letter was issued based on my journalist card.<\/p>\n
Thank goodness I work for the mass media and the strength of
\nit scares off institutions and people. But this incident made me
\nthink of thousands or maybe millions of less-fortunate
\nindividuals who have been refused by hospitals because they could
\nnot guarantee a certain amount of money when an accident occurs.
\nA friend of mine told me that his cousin, badly injured in a car
\naccident, was refused by three hospitals and nearly died when he
\narrived at the fourth one. Fortunately, he could still be saved.<\/p>\n
Well, hospitals should not take all the blame. There are also
\nstories of hospitals that have suffered major losses because
\npatients left without paying for their treatment. However,
\nhospitals are companies, not social institutions, even though
\nthey work at providing health services to the community. They
\nshould make money to continue operating.<\/p>\n
But we are in an on-going economic crisis. More than 25
\npercent of the population have fallen below the poverty line,
\nwhich means about 50 million people. What if any of these people
\nbecame suddenly involved in an accident? Should they die
\nabandoned, just because of their lack of money? Is several
\nmillion rupiah worth more than a human's life?<\/p>\n
The answer to these questions really shock me. And what makes
\nit more ironic is that not even 50 percent of hospitals could
\nguarantee that they could provide a service that is worth the
\nmoney. There are still many old hospital buildings, with long dim
\nwards and off-white walls and ceilings due to improper
\nmaintenance. Hospital toilets also disgusted me. In fact, it is
\nmy opinion that the unhygienic conditions of hospital toilets are
\nlikely to spread disease faster than you could imagine.<\/p>\n
CHADIJAH MASTURA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hospital-and-down-payment-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }