Bima Has Many Hospitals but Few Specialist Doctors, Health Minister Says Nearly All Regions Affected

Kota Bima in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has numerous hospitals. However, the availability of specialist doctors falls far short of adequate levels. Health Minister (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin revealed that the same conditions prevail across regions throughout Indonesia.

“The shortage of specialist doctors is not only in Bima, but across nearly all regions in Indonesia,” Budi stated during his visit to Bima on Friday (27 February 2026).

Budi urged local governments (pemda) to allocate scholarship funds to send their best students to study at Medical Faculties with various specialist programmes. These graduates would subsequently return to serve their regions.

“Specialist doctors in the regions must be increased. Having magnificent state hospitals and complete medical equipment is pointless if there are insufficient or no specialist doctors,” he said.

Budi revealed that one solution is that the Health Ministry (Kemenkes) already operates teaching hospitals. This is to address the shortage of specialist doctors, particularly outside Java Island.

“We are expanding teaching hospitals with a focus on producing specialist doctors. General practitioners from the regions can also be directed to these teaching hospitals to become specialist doctors,” he added.

According to additional data, Bima has three state hospitals: Bima City Regional Hospital, Bima Regional Hospital, and Sondosia Regional Hospital. Other hospitals include Bima City Armed Forces Hospital, Muhammadiyah Hospital, and Dokter Agung Hospital (private).