Upscale private hospitals reminded of social obligation
Upscale private hospitals reminded of social obligation
TANGERANG, West Java (JP): Minister of Health Sujudi called on
upscale private hospitals Saturday to keep their social
obligation to the poor.
One way to do that, Sujudi said, is to set aside up to 25
percent of their income to assist clinics and rural community
health centers, which represent the backbone of health service
for low-income families.
By law, upscale hospitals must set aside between 10 percent
and 25 percent of their beds to the poor at reduced fees. In
reality, the regulation has been ineffective as most poor people
feel intimidated by such posh hospitals and tend to seek
treatment elsewhere.
Sujudi made the remarks after officially opening the modern
16,000-square-meter Siloam Gleneagles Hospital.
On Saturday Gleneagles signed cooperation agreements with
three hospitals in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara; Manado, North
Sulawesi; and Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, to improve their human
resources, facilities and medical supplies.
Wealthy private hospitals might assist smaller hospitals, said
the minister, but they are still required to provide beds for
poor patients. No hospital has the right to turn down someone who
lacks financial means.
"Patients should be received without examining their financial
ability beforehand."
The US$49 million Gleneagles Hospital, which started operating
in January, is the first hospital in the country to involve
foreign investment. It is a joint venture between LippoLand
Development of Indonesia and Gleneagles International of
Singapore.
Sujudi said that the government's policy to allow private
investors has risks in that most privately-owned hospitals aim at
wealthy people and tend to overlook the poor.
He played down the fear that the presence of foreign investors
will make hospitals strictly profit-oriented.
"We have regulations that oblige hospitals to fulfill their
social obligations," he said. "Their presence is expected to
improve their service and quality."
According to Sujudi, some hospitals are not run professionally
and, as a result, cannot develop and make the best use of their
facilities.
"I regret this condition because the country's population to
hospital beds ratio is the lowest of all the ASEAN member
countries," Sujudi said.
Official figures show that the population/hospital beds ratio
stood at 100,000:60.8 in 1994, or one bed for every 1644.7 people
that year.
In addition to Gleneagles, the ministry has approved the
establishment of more joint-venture hospitals in Denpasar, Medan
and Surabaya, which are now under construction. (ste)