Public health centers extend services to 24 hours<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It was in the middle of the night when Hadi, a street vendor, had
\na terrible stomachache. Instead of visiting the emergency unit of
\nany hospital, Hadi went to the nearest district community health
\ncenter, which is now open 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Hadi, however, had to pay more.<\/p>\n
He usually paid a Rp 3,000 fee for a visit at the Tanah Abang
\nhealth community center (Puskesmas). But at night, it cost him Rp
\n10,000.<\/p>\n
\"It's expensive, but never mind. It is an emergency,\" said
\nHadi, who always went to the community center when he was sick.<\/p>\n
The doctor who was on duty said he worked in shifts with his
\ncolleagues to serve patients at night.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the patients here are victims of traffic accidents.
\nWe have also twice helped women who were about to give birth,\"
\nsaid the doctor, who declined to be named.<\/p>\n
The health center handles less than five patients each night
\non average since it started to extend the opening hours two
\nmonths ago.<\/p>\n
The health center used to be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
The extension of the opening hours is in accordance with the
\ninstruction of the City Health Agency which requires the 42
\ndistrict community health centers here to remain open 24 hours a
\nday, seven days a week.<\/p>\n
The policy has been implemented to help low-income patients in
\nemergency situations, said the agency spokeswoman Evy Zelfino.<\/p>\n
\"It is also a pilot project for self-financed health centers
\nin the autonomy era,\" she said.<\/p>\n
According to Diah, the staffer at the Tanah Abang district
\nhealth center, patients who come to the center from 4 p.m. to 8
\na.m. are charged Rp 10,000 instead of Rp 3,000.<\/p>\n
She said that despite the higher tariff, many patients came to
\nseek medical treatment in the late afternoon because they work in
\nthe morning.<\/p>\n
\"They don't have the time to visit us in the morning because
\nthey have to work. They don't mind paying more for the afternoon
\nhealth service,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The health service fee does not include medicine, which
\nusually costs about several thousand rupiah.<\/p>\n
Dr. Marius Widjajarta of the Indonesia Health Consumer
\nEmpowerment Foundation (YPKKI), hailed the 24-hour service
\noffered by health centers. However, he warned the centers against
\ncommercialization.<\/p>\n
\"Puskesmas is supposed to educate people in disease
\nprevention, not act as a provider of primary care commercial
\nhealth treatment. It carries a social mission, particularly for
\nthe poor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"They should not charge too much of a fee, because most of
\npuskesmas patients are those from low-income brackets,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/public-health-centers-extend-services-to-24-hours-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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