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Doctors association pleads for accessible health care for frontline medical workers
According to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), at least 100 doctors have died of the disease as of Aug. 31.
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Medical personnel rest after conducting COVID-19 swab tests in Depok, West Java, on April 8. (Antara/Asprilla Dwi Adha)
T
he government must provide accessible health care for health workers and their families as the battle against COVID-19 seems far from over, the Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI) has said.
“Hundreds of health workers who have died [of COVID-19] prove that the pandemic is not a conspiracy made by doctors and health workers; it is real,” a pulmonologist and a member of the PDPI, Eva Sri Diana, said during an online discussion held by volunteer group Lapor COVID-19 on Saturday.
“We also beg [the government] to give the health workers who relentlessly fight COVID-19 easy access to medical check-ups. Please help us [health workers] get access to health care."
Read also: 100 doctors in Indonesia have died from COVID-19: IDI
She said health workers and their families still found it hard to access COVID-19 swab tests and had to pay out of their own pockets, increasing the risk of getting infected and passing the disease to others.
According to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), at least 100 doctors have died of the disease as of Aug. 31.
“Those are not just numbers; those represent people’s souls, hopes and dreams. Each of those numbers have families, parents, children and relatives who love them.”
IDI chairman Daeng M. Fiqih told The Jakarta Post last week that the association had coordinated and urged the national COVID-19 task force to ensure more personal protective gear and health facilities for health workers in order to prevent more fatalities.
