Hospitals asked to put service first

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration's plan to turn its three hospitals into city corporations has worried residents, who fear that medical care could become more expensive as a consequence.

Hasan, a resident of Cijantung in East Jakarta, said he and his family had been relying on the health services of Pasar Rebo Hospital in East Jakarta for years.

"I hope there won't be any increase in medical fees and the price of medicine. The current prices are already high for a person with a low income like me," said Hasan, whose wife has been in and out of hospital with a lung and heart condition for the last six months.

The 55-year-old man, who was a clerk at a private company up until his recent retirement, said that every time his wife went to visit the doctor at the hospital it cost him around Rp 200,000 (US$21.50).

Pasar Rebo Hospital, Cengkareng Hospital in West Jakarta and Haj Hospital in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, will become city corporations starting Jan. 1, as stipulated in the bylaw, which was approved by the City Council on Aug. 10.

Dozens of employees of the three hospitals protested the administration's decision outside the House of Representatives building on Tuesday, saying that the hospitals would lose their social function.

Rufmini Makruf, a doctor at Pasar Rebo Hospital, said the plan to turn the hospital into a city corporation did not worry medical staff.

"Our biggest concern is that the hospitals will no longer provide health services for the poor. It is the poor that we have to consider," she said.

Pasar Rebo Hospital spokesman Deddy Suryadi promised that the hospital would still provide health services for the poor because it remains under the ownership of the administration.

"We will maintain our current tariffs, particularly for third-class wards, which are allocated for low-income families," he said.

A bed in a third-class ward is priced at Rp 20,000 per day, while beds in first-class wards are around Rp 300,000.

Eddy said it had been anticipated that the hospital's revenue would increase as the administration plans to scrap its subsidization of the three hospitals in its 2005 budget draft.

Pasar Rebo Hospital, which was established in 1945, received a subsidy of Rp 14.5 billion from the city administration this year.

The hospital's assets are worth around Rp 99.95 billion.

With the new status, the administration will have a 99 percent share in the hospital, while 1 percent will be owned by the hospital's workers cooperative.

Its patients come from other cities as well as Jakarta, including Depok, Bogor, Serang and Lampung.