RSCM needs better, informative directory signs<\/p>\n
By Maria Endah Hulupi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The lack of directory signs and their improper
\nplacement at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital often causes
\ninconvenience to both patients and visitors.<\/p>\n
The confusion has led to criticism of the hospital's
\nmanagement for its poor signs.<\/p>\n
A number of visitors interviewed by The Jakarta Post over the
\nweekend admitted that despite a number of existing directory
\nsigns on the walls, they were not helpful in that they still
\nneeded to ask people directions.<\/p>\n
They complained that the existing boards were not
\nstrategically located and were not as informative as they should
\nbe to lead people along the hospital's winding corridors.<\/p>\n
The state hospital, popularly called RSCM, is located on Jl.
\nDiponegoro, Central Jakarta. It accommodates 24 specialized
\nhealth services in its 134.672 square-meter building complex.<\/p>\n
According to data published in 1997, the hospital admits an
\naverage of 51,200 people annually.<\/p>\n
Agus, an employee of a private company, who was at the
\nhospital to visit his friend, said he had problems finding his
\nway to the hospital's burns unit.<\/p>\n
"It took me half an hour to go from the emergency unit to the
\nburns unit and I had to stop twice to ask for directions before I
\nfound it," he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that the unit was located in the middle of a long
\nhall but since the directory was almost hidden from view, it made
\nit difficult to find the unit from the intersection.<\/p>\n
"It would be helpful if the management provided some sort of
\ncomprehensive map placed at strategic locations, showing people
\nwhere they were and which direction to go in," Agus said.<\/p>\n
Another visitor, Muhammad, 54, whose grandson was being
\ntreated at the hospital's pediatrics unit, said the situation was
\nmade even worse because the existing directory boards did not
\ngive enough information.<\/p>\n
He said he entered the hospital through the emergency unit and
\nspent some time roaming about the hospital. "I walked along the
\nhall in front of the medical records section. I saw a directions
\nboard but I was still not sure which direction to take," he said,
\npointing at an intersection in front of the urology unit.<\/p>\n
Confusion finding units tired old people like him, he
\ncomplained, saying he frequently had to sit and rest.<\/p>\n
"It is a long hall. Unless I walked halfway along it, I would
\nnot know the location of the pediatrics unit," he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, another frustrated visitor, Sugiharto, said that,
\naccording to his experience, the best way to find the correct
\ndirection was to ask the hospital's employees.<\/p>\n
Sugiharto, who was at the hospital to visit a friend, said on
\nthe first day he went to the hospital, he decided to ask
\ndirections from a girl whom he assumed was a hospital worker as
\nshe was pushing a stretcher.<\/p>\n
"After carefully following her guidance, I still ended up in
\nthe wrong place," he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested that visitors go to hospital senior staff in
\norder to get reliable information. "Otherwise, they won't get to
\nthe place they are looking for."<\/p>\n
Kusnadi, a cleaning service worker at the urology unit, said
\npeople should go to hospital staff and ask for directions.<\/p>\n
"Any information regarding the location of the hospital's
\nvarious facilities given by people who do not work at the
\nhospital may mislead visitors. This is a big hospital and many
\npeople often lose their way in its large compound."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rscm-needs-better-informative-directory-signs-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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