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Malpractice victims lured by cheap prices, glitzy equipment
Thirty victims of the controversial Metropole Clinic in West Jakarta gathered Tuesday evening at the Jakarta Health Agency in Gambir, Central Jakarta, to meet with the agencyâs head, Dien Emmawati, and the Indonesian Health Consumer Empowerment Foundation
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hirty victims of the controversial Metropole Clinic in West Jakarta gathered Tuesday evening at the Jakarta Health Agency in Gambir, Central Jakarta, to meet with the agency's head, Dien Emmawati, and the Indonesian Health Consumer Empowerment Foundation.
They were victims of the clinic's fraud and malpractice, with some experiencing over Rp 10 million (US$823) in material losses and most also complaining of physical injuries after the clinic claimed to have conducted surgery on them.
The clinic was shut down by the city administration for not having a license to conduct surgery or provide inpatient services.
Last month, former patient, Elda Devina, filed a report with the Jakarta Police, saying she had been suffering from physical and psychological injuries stemming from two operations she had been forced into having in November last year.
The victims said they were tempted by the clinic's prices, sophisticated equipment and seemingly trustworthy foreign doctors.
One example is 45-year-old victim Nur Ilmiah. Nur, who lived in Petamburan in Central Jakarta, said she knew about the clinic from a brochure distributed throughout her neighborhood last November.
'In the brochure, everything was at a discount. They offered a consultation and USG [ultrasonography] for only Rp 80,000. Of course, I was tempted,' Nur told The Jakarta Post.
She said she had visited the clinic and registered for a consultation and a USG to check her uterus.
Nur was assigned to a foreign doctor, who spoke a foreign language that sounded like Chinese. 'The doctor could not speak Indonesian. I had to speak to him through an interpreter. So I thought this doctor must be the real deal,' she said.
After the USG, the doctor told her she had a uterine myoma and suffered from excessive pelvic fluid, requiring infusions right away. Believing the doctor, she was injected with fluids. Nur went to pay only to find she had a shocking Rp 1.68 million to pay for the infusion.
- Victims met with health agency officials saying they had been tempted by deep discounts
- After a checkup, foreign doctors would say they had serious illnesses that needed surgery
- Dubious surgeries were expensive
She returned the next day for another treatment and was persuaded into a transvaginal ultrasound, in which the doctor claimed he found a cyst and a fallopian tube blockage. The doctor said untreated she would not be able to fall pregnant.
'The doctor then forced me into surgery without anesthesia. After the surgery, I often felt pain in my stomach, until now,' Nur said, adding that in total she experienced Rp 14.6 million in material losses.
Another victim, 28-year-old Sherna Novita, said the doctor claimed she suffered from cervical inflammation and forced her into surgery after one USG. Like Nur, Sherna was tempted by the clinic's sophisticated equipment and affordable prices. After the alleged surgery, she said she often suffered stomach pain.
After news of the clinic's fraud and malpractice spread, she went looking for a second opinion at a more reputable hospital in North Jakarta.
'The doctors at that hospital said that there were no signs of surgery. I already spent more than Rp 15 million in that clinic for their so-called surgery and therapy,' she said.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Health Consumer Empowerment Foundation head Marius Widjajarta said the victims had fallen prey to the clinic because of their lack of understanding of medical procedures.
'Many people do not fully understand medical procedures. Only those who have studied medicine understand fully. We will help these victims get justice and we will guide those who have suffered physical injuries from malpractice,' Marius told reporters after the meeting recently.
As of Tuesday, the Jakarta Police had named two suspects, the clinic's director and managing director.
