RSCM strives to provide better services for public

JAKARTA (JP): The director of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital said on Saturday that the financially stricken hospital would become a state-owned company next year, meaning that it would get greater autonomy to manage it financial affairs.

Hermansyur Kartowisastro said in an interview in conjunction with the hospital's 81st anniversary that with the new status the hospital management would hopefully be able to improve its performance.

The anniversary fell on Nov. 19.

"The new status will give us greater freedom to manage our financial affairs. The government has asked us to submit a detailed proposal on purchasing new medical equipment," he said. He declined to say what month next year the hospital's status would change.

Quoting available data, Hermansyur said the hospital suffered Rp 4.5 billion in financial losses in 1997, Rp 5 billion in 1998 and Rp 8.4 in 1999.

"We predict a Rp 13 billion loss this year," he said, adding that the financial losses were mostly caused by irresponsible patients who left the hospital without paying for medical treatment.

The shortfall in the subsidy for the poor, who usually occupy class II and III rooms, also contributes to the hospital steady deficit, he said.

Standing on a 117,810-square-meter plot in Central Jakarta, the hospital has 1,300 beds, 80 percent of which are for class III patients.

However, Hermansyur denied that the hospital would use its new status merely to seek profit and ignore services for the poor.

The director said the hospital had strived to improve its financial performance, but to no avail.

"We just want to improve our financial management. We continue to focus on poor people," he promised, adding that the hospital would still obtain a subsidy from the government to pay employees' salaries.

The hospital, which is the largest state hospital in the country, has 6021 employees, including 1,508 nurses and 1,514 doctors.

"The educational programs for the medical staff is also financed by the government subsidy," Hermansyur said.

Subsidy

He said the hospital subsidized poor patients Rp 22,500 per day, while there were 25,000 patients a month. Most are from the low-income bracket.

"We have been applying a cross-subsidy system, meaning that part of the revenue obtained from VIP class patients is allocated to cover the expenses of class II and III patients."

As a consequence, he said, medical services for patients in VIP rooms were different. The patients, for example, can choose their own doctors.

"VIP class is actually the center of profit. The occupancy rate of VIP rooms is about 80 percent every month," he said.

Once the hospital becomes a state-owned company it will replace outdated equipment, he said, adding that the emergency room equipment was 14 years old. Respiratory and radiology equipment also needed replacing, he added.

Merdias Almatsier, hospital vice director for education, research and nursing, expressed optimism that the hospital would be able to compete with private hospitals in the city.

"We have sophisticated equipment like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), but the most important thing is that we have a large number of qualified medical practitioners," said Merdias.

The hospital has 50 professors and more than 100 doctors. The hospital also has several centers such as the thalassemia, the HIV/AIDS and the stroke centers.

The hospital was establish by the Dutch government in 1919, and was named Centrale Burgerlijke Ziekeninrichting.

There were then only two private hospitals in Jakarta, namely Tjikini Hospital and the Roman Catholic St. Carolus Hospital.

"That was when the city (Jakarta) had only around 600,000 people. Now the hospital serves 11 million city residents," said Hermansyur.

He said public criticism of the hospital's management and services prevailed. He blamed the behavior of unscrupulous staffers.

Many patients who want to get immediate attention use the services of scalpers, he admitted. This has tarnished the hospital's image.

Some said the presence of a huge number of medical students in the hospital had raised doubts from the public about the quality of services.

"Don't worry. We have strict operating procedures which are supervised by senior doctors." (asa)