Letters: Don't discredit Indonesian doctors

Several years ago, my cousin, while shopping with her daughter in Blok M, suffered from an embolism (a brain hemorrhage) and collapsed. Her daughter took her immediately to Fatmawati Hospital, South Jakarta, where she was rushed to the operating theater and had brain surgery.

We visited her the next day, where she was still in the emergency room attached to all sorts of machines and tubes. We feared for her life and had doubts whether she would have any chance to fully recover. A month later, she was released from hospital and recuperated at home.

A year later, I saw her at my brother's funeral and I almost did not recognize her. She looked more beautiful than ever and joked with us about her health. Although she occasionally has problems finding a few difficult words, she is doing extremely well now.

Credit should be given to the brain surgeon at this hospital. My family and friends immediately decided to recommend this surgeon to others just in case.

Some years ago, the three-year-old daughter of my Spanish friends, here in Bogor, ran through a glass partition while she was playing and her face was a bloody mass. She was rushed to Azra Hospital in Bogor and was immediately attended to by a team of doctors. Her parents took her to Singapore shortly afterward because they worried about the looks of their little girl.

The doctor in Singapore reassured them and told them that he could not have done a better job and praised the doctors in Bogor.

Of course, there are Indonesian doctors who are not so good, but these individuals are to be found everywhere. I have lived in a number of cities on three continents and have experienced treatment by good and bad doctors. Singaporean doctors are known to be money-grabbers but so are many doctors in Indonesia. Malpractice can be found everywhere. Having lived in the Netherlands for six years, I have watched TV programs several times where malpractice cases are aired openly and where hospitals had to compensate the patients.

I do not rush off to Singapore when I have health problems but go to Pondok Indah Hospital. The doctors there have my medical records. I am allergic to many antibiotics and I always have to wait for the preparation of my medicine, whic is especially prepared for me in their pharmacy.

Lynna
Bogor, West Java