NGO Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has urged the government to create a monitoring agency tasked with handling complaints from hospital patients.
ICW researcher Ratna Kusumaningsih said Sunday the government did not provide an official channel for patients to complain about poor treatment by medical workers.
“Most poorly treated patients don’t know how to voice their complaints because of fears they may lose malpractice suits against the hospitals treating them,” she told The Jakarta Post via telephone.
Ratna added she would recommend the government implementation of a complaint mechanism to the Health Ministry early next year.
A recent ICW survey showed 67 percent of poor patients were disappointed with hospital services.
Carried out in November, the study surveyed 738 poor patients eligible for public health insurance and health for poor families schemes at 23 hospitals in Greater Jakarta.
Most patients complained about complicated administrative procedures and rejections due to shortages of space.
The survey also showed most patients were forced to pay before being treated.
Another problem highlighted was the low frequency of visitations by doctors.
Ratna said patient safety in Indonesia was poor, adding that she believed the number of people being poorly treated was huge, but did not offer a specific figure.
She cited the case of Prita Mulyasari against Omni International Hospital, which she said would not have happened had there been an official channel for complaints.
Earlier Saturday, the newly elected chairman of the Indonesian Hospitals Association, Sutoto, said patient safety would be the association’s primary focus, in line with efforts to implementing the 2009 Hospital Law.
“Patient safety begins when we first diagnose. This is good medical practice,” Sutoto told the Post at his appointment ceremony.
“Patient safety is vulnerable to miscommunication between patients and doctors,” he added.
Sutoto maintained that patient safety was central to hospital service.
“We will continue disseminating the importance of patient safety and monitor its development throughout the regions,” he said.
The hospital law requires hospitals to treat poor patients who cannot afford the fees.
Hospitals are also preparing themselves, as the law becomes mandatory two years after it was passed on Sept. 28.
There are around 1,300 hospitals throughout the country.
The chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association, Fahmi Idris, said Sunday that Indonesia’s current health system was inadequate, citing a World Bank report.
“We need to improve the system. Medical errors happen due to systemic errors,” he said via SMS.
“Medical errors are not only caused by doctors and nurse. They could be pharmaceutical and logistical errors.”
In a statement earlier this year on Oct. 28, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said her ministry would publish data on medical errors in hospitals next year and patient safety would be the primary focus of her agenda for the next five years.
