Adrianus Ndu Ufi, vice chairman of the council's Commission D on health affairs, made the announcement Monday in Kupang in regards to an incident in which Yakobus Anunut, 37, a resident of the city's Oesapa subdistrict, had to carry his daughter's body 10 kilometers home from the hospital because he could not afford the Rp 300,000 (US$27) ambulance fee.
"We will immediately summon the hospital director. This incident has raised concern from various circles over the performance of the hospital management. The government should improve health services at hospitals," Adrianus said.
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction member Karel Yani Mbuik said standard services at the hospital were unclear and tended to be discriminative.
"This happened despite the fact the administration allocates around Rp 28 billion to the hospital annually to assist poor patients," Mbuik said.
"The hospital management is unwilling to attend to and treat poor patients, despite every medical expense, including ambulance fees, already being accounted for in the provincial as well as state budgets."
Golkar faction member Inche Sayuna said the hospital should not be so rigid in implementing rules in certain situations.
"It should have prioritized the human interest more. The management should be made to explain why Yakobus had to walk 10 kilometers carrying his daughter's body home," Sayuna said.
The hospital management has so far not provided an explanation for the incident involving Yakobus, who was in possession of a medical insurance card for the poor, but still failed to get the proper treatment.
Yakobus' 2-year-old daughter, Limsa Setiana Katarina Anunut (not Sepri Anunut, as reported earlier), died Feb. 13 of diarrhea that resulted from severe malnutrition, at W.Z. Yohannes Hospital.
Yakobus had brought her there on Feb. 11, after her condition worsened. She was treated at one of the emergency wards, with hospital staff claiming all the inpatient wards were full.
Equipped with a medical insurance card for the poor, Yakobus had hoped his daughter could get the required treatment. However, Limsa died at around 3 a.m. on Feb. 13 after getting brief treatment at the hospital.
Her body was reportedly left untreated when it was taken to the morgue.
After a two-hour wait, Yakobus eventually asked an ambulance official to help bring his daughter home, but the official demanded a payment of Rp 300,000.
"So I decided to walk and carry my daughter's body home, because I didn't have the Rp 300,000 for an ambulance fee," Yakobus said.
