Several Healthcare Workers Apologise After Unempathetic Comments to Patient

Unempathetic comments directed at a patient named Yurizal Tri Chaerawan, posted by several health workers on his Threads account on 22 July 2026, have drawn widespread public criticism. As is known, Yurizal had shared his experience of waiting eight hours for treatment without being given a hospital room.

“8 hours and still no room, I don’t want to name the hospital because I’m using BPJS,” Yurizal wrote on his Threads account, quoted on Wednesday, 5 August 2026.

The post was flooded with unempathetic comments from various accounts, some of which were known to belong to doctors and nurses. This was followed by condemnation from netizens directed at these health workers.

Now, several of those who wrote the unempathetic comments have issued apologies. The first to apologise was Dr Elda Putri, with the account @erudarahaadini, who had previously written a sarcastic comment.

“Their PP looks like someone who has, but is actually a haven’t, haven’t they? Haven’t some brain cells,” the account had commented.

In her written apology, Elda expressed her regret to the extended family of the late Yurizal, his friends and relatives, and to the wider public.

“Through this statement, I fully acknowledge that the comment I wrote on my social media account some time ago was highly improper, unethical, and showed a lack of empathy. I am aware that my words hurt many people, especially amid the difficult situation the deceased was facing at the time while seeking medical treatment,” her apology read.

She explained that as a doctor and health worker, she should have upheld the values of humanity, compassion, and high levels of empathy towards anyone. She admitted she deeply regretted that her actions in no way reflected the professional medical oath or the ethics and morals she should have upheld, both as an individual, an alumnus of her educational institution, and a recipient of an LPDP scholarship.

Elda acknowledged that her apology might not be enough to erase the pain, disappointment, and anger she had caused. She also vowed to treat this incident as a stern warning and a lifelong lesson so that she could become a far wiser, more empathetic person and medical professional, and mind her words both in the real world and in digital spaces.