Sumaryono's case is simply malpractice: NGO

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Non-governmental organization the Legal Aid Institute for Health (LBH Kesehatan) said on Tuesday that medical malpractice was indicated in the case of Sumaryono, 24, who has suffered for almost five months without proper medical treatment from the hospitals that treated him.

"Two hospitals, Tarakan Hospital and Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM), can be charged with malpractice," said Iskandar Sitorus of LBH Kesehatan, which Sumaryono contacted to help present his case.

Sumaryono went to Tarakan Hospital in May and was told initially by a Dr. Rika that he had a problem with his appendix, but she later said he had a tumor in his stomach and recommended surgery to remove it. However, she failed to stitch up the surgical incision and the hospital discharged Sumaryono without any medication nor follow-up treatment. Later, the doctor recommended him to RSCM for follow-up treatment, but the hospital refused to admit him.

Part of his intestine poked through the open incision to the right of his waist, which had been left unstitched.

Iskandar said his organization had sent letters to the two hospitals, requesting their explanations regarding Sumaryono's case.

"We will start preparing malpractice lawsuits against both hospitals if they do not respond to our letters within three days," he told The Jakarta Post at St. Carolus Hospital in Salemba, Central Jakarta, where Sumaryono is now a patient.

Sumaryono has been receiving treatment at St. Carolus Hospital since Monday, in large part due to donors who came to his aid upon hearing his story on the Jakarta Police radio station Suara Metro 91.1 Emergency Assistance.

A relative said that Dr. Benny, who is in charge of Sumaryono, told him that Sumaryono might have an operation by Friday to "fix up all the mess".

Iskandar blamed Tarakan Hospital for failing to provide Sumaryono complete and thorough treatment, and for prolonging his suffering for the past five months.

"Since the beginning, they (Tarakan Hospital) should have admitted that they were not capable of handling Sumaryono's condition. But, as you see in these medical reports, no mention was made in his diagnosis by the hospital's doctors that they were incapable of treating Sumaryono," he said, showing copies of Sumaryono's medical reports from Tarakan Hospital.

Sumaryono has a tumor in his intestine that weighs between 500 grams and one kilogram.

Iskandar alleged that the hospital halted the surgical procedure and treatment after it discovered that the patient could not afford the costs.

He also blamed RSCM for denying admission and treatment to Sumaryono, even though he carried a recommendation letter from Tarakan Hospital and another letter from the social welfare office, confirming that he was poor and was eligible for government medical subsidy.

In contrast to Iskandar's view, the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) insisted that the two hospitals had followed the correct procedures.

"They have carried out the procedures correctly. The only problem is that the patient was unlucky because he was not admitted to the second hospital, which was recommended by the first hospital," said Budi Sampurno, head of education and advocacy at IDI.

Budi conceded, however, that poor administration at the two hospitals had caused the incident.

"We don't have a good (administrative) system for monitoring patients like that in hospitals of developed countries," he said.