Surgery activities at RSCM resume

JAKARTA (JP): The operating room of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM), which was closed down on Monday after being burglarized, returned to normal yesterday.

Thieves reportedly broke into the operating room early Monday. The facility was closed down for fear that it was no longer sterile and dangerous for patients undergoing operation.

The incident forced surgeons to postpone operations on at least 35 patients on Monday.

Doctor Ichram Syah A. Rachman, the chief of the surgery department, told reporters yesterday that the burglars made off with Rp 400,000 (about US$170). No equipment was stolen, he added.

Ichram said the hospital management decided to close down the operating room because it might have been contaminated by air that blew in through the window which was broken by the burglars to gain entry, as well as by dirt carried into the room by the thieves. The presence of police officers investigating the crime was also believed to have added to the contamination of the room, Ichram added.

Ichram said that up to 50 patients undergo surgery in the room each day.

Hospital officials say the burglary could have involved an insider.

Ichram said that the thieves seemed to know exactly which drawer the money was kept in and did not touch anything else.

"The robbers came into the room and broke open the drawers in which the chief nurse usually keeps money," Ichram said.

"Fortunately, they did not take any surgical equipment. If they had, they would have had a hard time selling it," Ichram added. (01)