MMC transformed into frontline hospital

MMC transformed into frontline hospital

Urip Hudiono and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The usually quiet Metropolitan Medical Center (MMC) was
transformed into a scene of chaos and confusion moments after the
explosion outside the nearby Australian Embassy on Jl. Rasuna
Said.

Doctors and staff rushed around the emergency room, treating
the patients as they swarmed into the hospital in the dozens.
Several doctors were standing by, ready to perform surgery on the
more seriously injured.

"All of our staff have been called onto duty," said a hospital
official.

The cries of the victims and their relatives echoed through
the corridors. The shock could be seen on the faces of the
bloodied victims.

Gunawan, 45, of Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, who was being
treated for facial lacerations, said he was making a U-turn near
the embassy when he heard the blast. After blacking out for
several seconds in his car, he limped his way to the hospital.

Josuwa Ramos, 25, an embassy security officer, was being
treated for injuries to his legs.

"My legs were hit by a metal object during the blast," he
said. "I cannot walk yet. I got four stitches to my right leg,
and my left leg is extremely painful."

A young man was lying face down, grimacing in pain as his foot
was stitched up. Beside him, a mother wiped the blood off her
daughter's face.

"It felt like a typhoon. I felt a piercing pain and then the
loud blast," said Suwarji, 39, a construction worker who suffered
an injury to the back of his head.

Outside the hospital, the ambulances continued to arrive, but
security officers had difficulty clearing room for them.

"Please, make way," a paramedic shouted at a crowd blocking
off the entrance gate.

Staff at the hospital attempted to control the group of people
crowded around the list of victims posted at the hospital's front
gate.

Women with glassy eyes skimmed through the list, cries of pain
each time a familiar name was spotted.

A total of 105 victims sought treatment at the hospital.

Four bodies were taken to the hospital's morgue, before being
transferred to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

At the nearby Aini Eye Hospital, nurses and paramedics treated
27 people. Most were discharged, but two remained for further
treatment.

At Jakarta Hospital, 14 victims came in by taxi and private
cars.

Most of the victims were suffering from minor cuts and
lacerations from flying glass and debris, and were discharged
after being treated.

At a press conference at MMC hospital, Jakarta Governor
Sutiyoso warned hospitals not to refuse to treat any of the
bombing victims.

"All of the medical expenses will be paid for by the
government," he said.