Tumor patient

Tumor patient

From Berita Buana

In response to the letter published in Berita Buana on July
20, 1994, entitled The hope of Iswandi who suffers from tumor, we
would like to give the following comments.

We can understand what you feel after having been treated for
more than two months in Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital
(RSCM) without palpable result. In general, all patients that
arrive at the hospital daily are in a state of anxiety that could
lead to misunderstanding or lack of communication between the
patient/family and the doctors and nurses.

It should be noted that RSCM has to give direct treatment to
about 3,000 out-patients daily, and to serve 900-1,000
hospitalized patients. Each of the hospitalized persons is
attended by three to four relatives of the patient, so that the
hospital staff has to deal with 3,600 people, and they are
sometimes hard to manage.

The tense situation that arose due to your despair because
your disease is virtually incurable has caused a misunderstanding
which led you to feel that you were being treated like a "guinea
pig." In fact your disease is already in an advanced stage, which
made it extremely difficult for the doctor and nurses to give
effective treatment.

Moreover the medicine given you was expensive and could do no
more than simply relieve you from pain. It was too great a burden
for RSCM to provide that medicine, mainly because of budget
constraints. Please note that last year alone RSCM had to spend
billions of rupiah to provide free treatment for patients who
could not afford the medical cost themselves.

Sending you home does not mean that we drove you away from the
hospital. We felt it would be more restful and convenient for you
if you were among your relatives at home, away from the tense
situation and uncertainty you experienced almost daily while
being treated in the hospital. Our decision was also based on the
fact that the hospital could not promise an easy cure for your
disease. We sympathize with you and hope you can understand our
position.

DR. M. AHMAD DJOJOSUGITO MPH

RSCM Director