Health ministry inaugurates disaster relief center

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Health inaugurated a national emergency center on Monday, which will provide medical assistance for victims of disasters and serve as a training center for emergency health officers.

"An immediate response to disasters needs a control center with well-trained human resources," Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi said in his opening speech during the inauguration ceremony, which was held in conjunction with National Health Day on Monday.

The center, called the Disaster Relief Brigade (BSB) headquarters, was established in February, but could not operate adequately due to lack of facilities.

Suyudi said the BSB is now equipped with sophisticated communications facilities and experienced doctors, and will hopefully meet the public's demand in dealing with acute and chronic disasters.

He said that since Indonesia does not have emergency physicians, the headquarters can serve as a training center to educate doctors and paramedics as specialists on emergency relief.

Located in the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta, the BSB has 150 officers comprising doctors, paramedics, and social workers who are ready to be dispatched to disaster areas.

The BSB headquarters is equipped with a 24-hour communication facility to monitor certain areas prone to natural disasters and social upheavals such as communal riots. It also has a helicopter and a helipad to ensure immediate mobility of the staff.

Ahmad Djojosugito, head of the BSB, hopes that the BSB will not overlap with the tasks of local emergency relief workers.

"Principally, regional relief teams will be the first to take action. But if they cannot handle it, we will help them," Achmad said.

Aryono D. Pusponegoro, the headquarters' coordinator, said the BSB will establish several branches in the North Sumatra capital of Medan, Makassar in South Sulawesi and Surabaya in East Java.

He said the BSB headquarters will conduct training courses for at least 21 doctors using international standard emergency skills.

Under a three-year contract agreement, the doctors will be trained on how to handle several emergency cases, such as trauma (ATLS) and cardiac problems (ALS) as well as management of major incidents (MIMMS).

Aryono said the training is needed because Indonesia does not have emergency physicians. "They will become the first generation of emergency physicians in Indonesia," he added.