Health centers ignorant of flood victims
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A total of 19 flood victims -- 12 adults and seven toddlers -- have died at Tarakan Hospital since Feb. 1, after suffering from diarrhea.
Many other victims are still undergoing medical treatment at the hospital, which is just one of a few providing free care for the city's flood victims.
The number of patients have exceeded the number of beds at the hospital, which, as a result, is now unable to provide adequate treatment.
Dengue fever is now threatening the patients' health as they are still staying in temporary shelters without adequate facilities.
The idea to provide 24-hour health posts in flood-prone areas, launched by the Jakarta Health Agency on Jan. 18, has apparently not yet materialized.
The facts show that several public health centers -- which were supposed to have a 24-hour doctor on duty -- are ignorant of the urgency of the situation.
Petamburan subdistrict health center on Jl. Petamburan III, Central Jakarta, did not have any doctors or medical staff available around the clock.
Located just 50 meters away from a flooded area, there was just one administrative member of staff at the center, who was sleeping when visited by The Jakarta Post.
The staffer, Mia, said: "We only have one doctor who comes every morning at 7 a.m. but he left today at 9 a.m. The night shift is only attended by a midwife and two nurses."
The center was supposed to handle at least 2,000 victims in the subdistrict, whose houses remain flooded.
One of the residents, Taufik, complained that he had never seen the center's doctor attend nearby flood victims.
"All I know is the center is more often closed than open. We're very lucky that doctors from the Justice Party and other volunteers have visited us regularly and checked our health," he said.
A worse situation was spotted in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. No medical staff or doctors were seen standing by at the district health center there, which oversees seven subdistrict health centers.
At Mampang Prapatan subdistrict health center, South Jakarta, not a single doctor was seen on duty, although the center oversees around 250 families.
Lestrina, an on-duty midwife, said no doctor was available at weekends because they are only on duty on weekday mornings. And recently the doctors have been attending to flood victims at health posts across the subdistrict.
But a resident living near one of the posts, Siti, said the doctors only came to check their health very occasionally.
In contrast, Tebet health center in South Jakarta has 22 doctors -- of which 15 of them are general practitioners and seven are in charge of the emergency unit -- are not allowed to leave the center due to the high-alert status.
Dr. Ratna Sari Kurniasih, who was on duty on Saturday, said that it had been difficult to organize enough doctors to open 24- hour health centers in all subdistricts.
"The doctors, who were absent from their duties, could not be penalized as they had voluntarily dedicated themselves to the flood victims. The announcement was to open 24-hour health centers but not for doctors to work around the clock," she added.
The difficulty has forced the head of the Jakarta Health Agency, Abdul Cholik Masulili, to recruit more volunteers for the health centers.
"Our doctors have been exhausted by their work treating the victims. It is understandable why they haven't visited several subdistrict health centers. They also need a rest," he said.
Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi revealed on Saturday that 42 district health centers and 282 subdistrict health centers -- supported by 156 doctors and 515 medical officers -- have been made available to deal with flood victims.
He also said the percentage of patients with flood-related afflictions, who have died has reached 0.7 percent of the total 1,984 patients admitted to hospital.