Patients confused about free care

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Although the city administration has urged city-run hospitals to prioritize dengue fever patients and provide them with free-of- charge medical services, at city-run Budhi Asih Hospital in East Jakarta, many patients and relatives were poorly informed of the free service.

"We have heard about the free treatment on television, but we are confused if it's really free of charge or if we have to pay for the medicine. I made a Rp 200,000 (US$24) deposit when my son was admitted here two days ago," said Ribka, from Cawang, East Jakarta.

Parents of other patients in the hospital's Dahlia Room were also uninformed of the free service. Some had even lost their receipts for their deposits and the medicine they had bought. They did not know that they would be reimbursed if they showed the receipts to the hospital administration.

"I didn't know the receipts would be useful, so I just put them away somewhere. The hospital staff never told me that the treatment was free and that we could reclaim our money," said Nelci Manulaga, a mother from Kampung Makassar, East Jakarta.

The increasing number of dengue fever patients, however, have forced new patients to be admitted to Class 2 rooms, which are not free of charge, because the free Class 3 rooms are full.

"We have informed new dengue fever patients that they don't have to pay for treatment in Class 3 rooms. However, if they want to be treated in Class 2 rooms, we will charge them in full," said Dr. Hot S. Hutagalung, the Dahlia Room head doctor.

He admitted that the hospital administration staffers had yet to inform patients who were admitted earlier about the free-of- charge treatment, saying that they had been extremely busy.

"We plan to inform each patient when they are nearing release," he said.

Hutagalung confirmed that one more dengue fever patient died on Tuesday night, bringing the death toll at the hospital to eight.

"Currently, the hospital is treating 79 dengue fever patients, including 12 new cases admitted this morning. Since January, we have treated 264 patients with dengue fever," he said, adding that more and more patients were admitted each day.

Tanah Abang Community Health Center head Dr. Benny Patuwo said 2,963 Jakartans had contracted the disease, and 26 had died.

"The trend is not on the decline yet. Records from every city- run hospital and community health center show that the number of people with dengue fever remains high.

"In West Jakarta alone, Tarakan Hospital is receiving three to four patients every day. This hospital has had to transfer many of its patients to Cengkareng Hospital, the only city-run hospital able to accommodate new dengue fever patients," he said.

"Our health center has a similar admission rate," he added.

Benny said earlier that the frantic clean-up drives and neighborhood fumigation would do little to stem the disease if people ignored the dangers of the disease until a family member died.

Rudy, a resident of Cawang, East Jakarta, said residents had never been told by health officers to empty vessels with standing water.

"My son contracted the disease last year, but I was unaware even then that we should have eliminated those conditions in our neighborhoods that provide nesting sites for the mosquitoes," he said.