The Indonesian government plans to build five \u201cworld class\u201d hospitals catering for rich citizens who spend \u00adhundreds of millions of \u00addollars every year on treatment overseas.<\/p>\n
Officials say profits from the new facilities will be used to improve healthcare for the tens of millions of Indonesians living below the poverty line.<\/p>\n
Jakarta estimates that up to 200,000 Indonesians seek treatment abroad with the vast majority going to neighbouring Singapore.<\/p>\n
Data from the Singapore Tourist Board show that in 2006, the last year for which figures are available, 410,000 foreigners visited the city-state for medical treatment and spent S$1.3bn (\u00a3458m, \u20ac578m, $845m).<\/p>\n
Dr Tjahjono Gondhow- iardjo, the development director of Dr Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta \u2013 the country\u2019s largest and the first earmarked to build a world class wing \u2013 said the aim was to \u201ccapture 25 per cent to 30 per cent of this market\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust having world class buildings does not guarantee success; we have to have the systems too,\u201d he said. \u201cHere at Cipto we started implementing change two years ago, so we are confident we will be ready when the international wing opens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other hospitals earmarked for the international wings are in Bali, Bandung, Semarang and Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Equipment at some departments at Cipto, such as radiology, is on a par with anything available in the region. But analysts and diplomats are sceptical about the initiative\u2019s likely success, citing the government\u2019s failure to address public health issues.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has suffered so many human deaths from bird flu that the government no longer automatically announces them in order to minimise bad publicity.<\/p>\n
An independent United Nations-commissioned report published this month found that the maternal mortality level among Indonesia\u2019s poor was three to four times worse than for the rich; and Indonesian government data show only 46 per cent of the nation\u2019s children are fully immunised.<\/p>\n
Private hospitals are also ramping up the quality of their care, with Lippo Karawaci hospital becoming the first in Indonesia to achieve accreditation from the US-based Joint Commission International, one of several organisations that classifies hospitals.<\/p>\n
Sari, an Indonesian who took her mother to Singapore for treatment, said Indonesia\u2019s main challenges were service levels and the quality of doctors. \u201cThere are excellent doctors here, but there are not nearly enough of them, so they are overloaded,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, many doctors and nurses don\u2019t communicate well. They think patients don\u2019t need to know what\u2019s happening or that they won\u2019t understand, so they come across as arrogant.\u201d<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-eyes-hospital-profits-1222691032", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }