"We have been overwhelmed. Usually the Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR) reaches 50-60 percent. Now in Java and Jakarta, (it) is already above 90 percent, and the number of on-duty doctors is also down because many have been infected with COVID-19," he informed here on Monday.
Owing to a continuous flow of COVID-19 patients into hospital emergency service rooms, it is becoming difficult to provide optimal treatment to patients with other serious illnesses, he said here on Monday.
"Currently, heart disease patients in Indonesia have not been tackled properly because of the dominance of COVID-19 patients," he added.
Dr. Dewi Astrid Lestari, a member of the Indonesian Association of Internal Medicine Specialists (PAPDI), provided a similar account.
"What is happening now is that major general hospitals have converted their functions to only serve COVID-19 cases, 100 percent," she said.
As a consequence, patients with kidney failure, diabetes, hypertension, heart, lung, and autoimmune conditions, and cancer, among other things, are currently less likely to receive optimal care, even though they are also considered a vulnerable group, she pointed out.
Chairman of the Indonesian Pulmonologists' Association (PDPI), Dr. Agus Dwi Susanto, said the COVID-19 red zone situation on Java Island and Jakarta has led to patients queuing up at several private and government-owned hospitals.
Therefore, additional hospital capacity is needed, with a number of considerations, said Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, a pulmonologist with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Indonesia (FKUI).
He suggested that the number of healthcare workers be increased and medical equipment and oxygen be made available to tackle the situation. Besides, primary health services should continue to be improved in handling non-COVID-19 patients, he said.
Aditama also emphasized the need to impose stricter restrictions on public activities to prevent a further spread of COVID-19 infections.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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