Police can't handle malpractice cases
Police can't handle malpractice cases
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After hours of questioning inside a tiny room, Edison Manik and
Ramadani breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the city
police's public complaint center.
"We hope the police will resolve our cases and justice is in
sight. I can't stand watching my wife in pain anymore," Edison
said at city police headquarters on Monday afternoon.
Edison and Ramadani had just filed malpractice complaints
against the Persahabatan and Pondok Kopi Islamic hospitals, both
in East Jakarta.
Edison's wife fell severely ill after undergoing a hemorrhoid
operation at Persahabatan hospital in August 2004, while the
health of Ramadani's wife has deteriorated since a caesarean
operation in April.
Edison's and Ramadani's high expectations, however, may end in
disappointment as earlier investigations into alleged malpractice
have gone nowhere.
Police have cited legal loopholes and red tape as reasons why
most alleged malpractice cases reported to them have not been
brought to court.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono acknowledged on
Monday that his office was struggling to investigate the many
malpractice cases they were handling due to difficulties in
gathering evidence.
"We can't submit the case files to prosecutors if we don't
have enough evidence," he said.
He said the Medical Law, enacted last September, did not
include an article on malpractice. Instead, the law defines
malpractice as a case in which an individual commits fraud by
posing as a doctor, nurse, health worker or other medical
professional.
Another obstacle is that police encounter difficulties in
finding experts to testify that patients were actually ill
because of doctors' negligence as they have to consult with the
Medical Ethics Council to find an expert, Tjiptono said.
"The council determines who will step forward as an expert,
which takes time. How can we determine whether a malpractice
report is factual if we don't have a witness," he said.
Tjiptono said police would continue to coordinate with the
council to resolve all alleged malpractice cases.
Leo Irfan Purba of the Legal Aid Institute for Health, who
accompanied Edison and Ramadani, complained that since 2004 they
had accompanied patients to file 35 reports to police but none of
them had reached court.
"Police always say they are still looking for sufficient
evidence. But many of our clients have died during the waiting
period. However, we will not stop filing reports as the more
cases we file the more chances we have," he told The Jakarta
Post.