Hospitals forced to delay surgery

Hospitals forced to delay surgery

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An unexpected blackout surprised residents across the capital,
and indeed most of Java and Bali, on Tuesday, and made life more
troublesome for several hours.

It was darker than usual in the wards of Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta when the electricity
suddenly went off in the morning.

Several wards only had a couple lights on, but received a
little help from the sunlight coming through the windows.

"It is usually not that well-illuminated anyway. But today it
has been practically dark in here," said Hamdan, a male nurse at
the hospital's Ward A (IRNA-A).

The electricity went off at around 10:30 a.m. in Jakarta
Thursday, triggering massive traffic jams -- as traffic lights
were also incapacitated -- and crippling the operation of train
company PT Kereta Api Indonesia throughout Greater Jakarta.

The unexpected blackout on Thursday left RSCM with just
minimum of power, which delayed several planned surgeries and
kept the hospital's power maintenance crew busy as the generators
were not functioning properly.

"We are putting a priority on the power from our generator to
the ICU, ICCU (Intensive Care Unit and Intensive Critical Care
Unit), surgery wards and telephone switchboard," said RSCM's
generator maintenance head Rusanto.

"However, I suggested that surgeries be delayed. But the ones
ongoing were able to proceed."

Rusanto explained that his office had only been able to supply
limited power since one of its two generators was not working.
"The one that was working was running at a high temperature. I am
afraid that it will overheat," he said.

Contacted at 4 p.m. the same day, the electricity had returned
to normal at the hospital as state electricity company PLN
managed to get some power back on in different areas.

At Sumber Waras hospital in West Jakarta, the blackout was not
a major concern since their generator was not having any
problems.

Part of the hospital's administration offices lost power at
10:30 a.m. when the building management shut off some lights and
its air conditioning to prioritize the needs of patients.

"We have provided enough electricity in our hospital and our
patients should have no problem," said Mila, a hospital employee.

Meanwhile, several property management companies that own
business office blocks also had to cut power usage, causing a
less comfortable temperature in some public places and longer
lines in front of the elevators at lunch time.

"We turned off one elevator and an air conditioner. The
temperature in the lobby was also set higher to use the power
from our generators efficiently," said Sunaryo, an electrician
from the Sona Topas tower on Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta.

Similar conditions were also found at the Jakarta Stock
Exchange building. Since an elevator from each zone was turned
off, traders and staff had to wait in longer lines to get up and
down in the building.

Smaller office buildings without backup generators were forced
to stop work. Many office workers were seen killing time outside
their offices, while lots of doors and windows were open.
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