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)