Ministry of Immigration and Corrections and Ministry of Health Provide Free Cataract and Health Screenings for Independence Day
The Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, together with the Ministry of Health, held free cataract and general health screenings at the Cipinang Corrections General Hospital in Jakarta on Monday to commemorate the 81st anniversary of Indonesian independence.
Head of the Cipinang Corrections General Hospital, Ummu Salamah, stated that the number of people served was 81 inmates and 81 members of the public. The examinations involved doctors from the Jakarta Corrections General Hospital and the Indonesian Ophthalmologists Association.
Ummu said that by 09.15 WIB, seven out of 17 inmates examined for cataracts had already undergone cataract surgery. She noted that while free health check-ups are held routinely every month, this is the first time cataract examinations have been included.
“Following the direction of the Minister of Immigration and Corrections, free health check-ups and social assistance are carried out routinely every month. For cataracts, this is the first time this year,” she said.
She explained that the free health check-ups and cataract examinations for the general public were conducted at the hospital’s polyclinic at the front of the building, while services for inmates were held separately at the back. “We separate them because of their status as inmates. They require special handling,” she said.
The Cipinang Corrections General Hospital has been serving the general public since 2022. Previously, the facility exclusively served inmates from detention centres and prisons across DKI Jakarta. The hospital provides all health services, particularly acting as a referral centre for tuberculosis, HIV, and dental examinations, and also treats former inmates.
Previously, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections and the Ministry of Health launched a nationwide tuberculosis screening programme using chest X-rays and free health check-ups for correctional officers, detainees, prisoners, and juvenile inmates, centred at the Ngaseman Penitentiary on Nusakambangan Island, Cilacap Regency, Central Java.