Health Minister Requests Hospitals Arrange Healthcare Worker On-Call Schedules to Maintain Emergency Services During Eid Holiday

JAKARTA — Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has requested hospitals, particularly those operating under the Health Ministry, to optimise the management of healthcare worker on-call schedules to ensure emergency medical services continue to function at maximum capacity during the Eid holiday period.

Budi emphasised that emergency medical treatment must be prioritised as it directly concerns patient life-saving measures. “For emergency procedures, as these save lives, all Health Ministry hospitals must arrange their human resources to be able to provide service,” Budi stated during a visit to Dharmais Cancer Hospital in Jakarta on Monday, 16 March 2026.

Emergency medical procedures, including surgery resulting from accidents, must continue to be provided without delay. “For example, if someone has an accident and needs head surgery, that must be treated. The director of the hospital will arrange the human resources accordingly,” Budi explained.

For scheduled, elective, or non-emergency medical procedures, services will be rescheduled. According to Budi, this schedule adjustment may result in an increase in medical procedures on the days before or after the holiday period. However, since these procedures are already scheduled, hospital management has been asked to arrange healthcare staffing appropriately to ensure services continue to operate optimally.

Budi previously confirmed that all hospitals under the Health Ministry would remain operational to handle emergency cases during the 2026 Eid holiday period. The ministry currently operates nearly 40 hospitals throughout Indonesia. During the extended holiday, these hospitals will remain open to serve patients with emergency conditions.

However, the Health Ministry is adjusting the operational schedule for elective or scheduled medical procedures during the period from 20 to 23 March. “The procedures we will reduce or reschedule during those four days are elective procedures—procedures that are scheduled in nature and not emergencies,” Budi said.