Doctors rapped for poor treatment of AIDS carriers

JAKARTA (JP): Many medical doctors here appear to be unsympathetic in their treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS, especially women who are about to give birth, says an expert and a social worker.

Speaking at a one-day seminar on women and children and their experiences with HIV/AIDS, obstetrician Siti Dhyanti Wishnuwardhani from the University of Indonesia and Samsuridjal Djauzi of Pelita Ilmu Foundation, an institution that focuses on AIDS, revealed that the unfriendly treatment of people with HIV/AIDS was mainly due to doctors' lack of knowledge on handling those infected with HIV/AIDS.

According to Siti and Samsuridjal, such unprofessional behavior displayed toward people with HIV/AIDS could worsen the condition of those with the condition, who also need nonmedical support from their physicians.

"Actually there are so many doctors whose knowledge of the condition is similar to that of any lay person, who thinks that people are easily infected through any kind of contact," Siti told the seminar held by Pelita Ilmu Foundation.

Siti recalled a 1996 experience when she was treating a woman with HIV/AIDS who faced difficulties in giving birth at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital here.

She was amazed at receiving no support from her seniors.

"My superior was even reluctant to treat the woman and just asked me to handle it. It was not because of his inability, it was his (limited) knowledge of the condition," Siti told the participants, which included doctors, medical students and a woman with HIV/AIDS.

Siti is urging doctors to spend some of their spare time to read up on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) to banish their fears.

"Doctors are safe as long as they use the required medical apparatus while handling (operating on) a person with HIV/AIDS. They, for example, should wear a hat, eyeglasses, mask, robe, two pairs of gloves and fully covered shoes," she said.

Samsuridjal then suggested that doctors also receive education to improve their understanding of the condition.

Sharing her feelings, the AIDS-infected participant told the seminar that she still needed help and care from other people, including doctors, despite her limited lifespan.

"I really hope that people of all walks of life will accept us because the illness in my body cannot be easily transferred to other people," the woman, who has been separated from her two daughters, said.

Data from the Ministry of Health reveals that the number of HIV/AIDS cases nationwide has grown to 764 from 702 last June, Samsuridjal said.

He estimated that the number would increase further in line with the skyrocketing prices of medical equipment and medicine.

Another Pelita Ilmu staffer cited as an example the price of Azidotimidine capsules, which is a popular medicine to treat HIV/AIDS here.

A bottle of 100 capsules has jumped in price to Rp 800,000 from Rp 500,000, he said. (ind)