Sick baby boy in Medan sent away from hospital

Sick baby boy in Medan sent away from hospital

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Sutarno, 40, and Nurliah, 38, could only feel sad and helpless
when their son, who is just two-days-old, was rejected by
Pirngadi General Hospital in Medan due to a defect on his head.

They brought their baby back home after the municipal hospital
refused to treat him.

Nurliah said their fifth child was born at home on the night
of July 27 at about 10:30 p.m. with the help of a midwife. The
baby was born in a healthy condition, but there was a big lump on
the right side of his head.

Worried about it, Sutarno and four of his relatives decided to
take the baby to be diagnosed and treated at the hospital the
next day.

However, when they arrived at the hospital's emergency unit,
the doctors and nurses refused to let them in. Only two female
relatives, Sutarno's mother and sister-in-law, were allowed to
enter the hospital.

The baby's grandmother, Nuraini, 49, said that while they were
in the room, several doctors and nurses were crowding over the
baby.

Nuraini had initially intended to show the defect on the
baby's head to the doctors, but they prevented her from removing
the cloth, which was covering the baby's head, saying they feared
that reporters would see it.

While they were in the emergency room, neither of the doctors
or nurses examined the baby nor tried to help him, said Nuraini.

She said they gave the family a suggestion to take the baby
home because it was healthy.

"There's nothing wrong with the baby. There're many germs
here. It's better for you to take the baby home so that it won't
be infected by disease," said Nuraini, quoting one of the
doctors.

Head of the medical service department of Pirngadi hospital,
Amran Lubis, when asked for confirmation, said he had only
learned about the matter recently.

He said the hospital would take serious action against doctors
or nurses who refused to treat patients, because as medical
workers, they acted in contradiction to their obligation to treat
sick people.

"I promise to investigate this case thoroughly. If there is
proof that any of the doctors or nurses refused to treat the
patient, we will dismiss them," Amran told The Jakarta Post on
Friday.

After being rejected by the hospital, the family took the baby
back home where the baby was taken care of by his parents for a
day, but he cries continuously.

"I was worried about his health because he cries the whole
night, and that's why we decided to take our baby to the Haj
Hospital," said Nurliah, who sells lontong (rice steamed in
banana leaf and served with vegetable gravy).

Sutarno later took his son to the Haj Hospital in Medan on
Friday, where the baby was examined and is now in an incubator
under observation by doctors.

A doctor at the hospital, Siti Endah Hutami, stated that the
lump on the baby's head was a congenital defect acquired while
still in the mother's womb, or in medical terms
meningoencephalitis. "We are still conducting diagnosis on the
baby, but it (the defect) must be removed," said Siti.