Jakarta (ANTARA) - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has directed Jakarta's Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) to guide regional hospitals in treating diabetic patients.

"The Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital has been tasked with being a national (guide) for diabetes treatment because diabetes is the mother of all diseases. When one has contracted diabetes, it can (bring) other diseases, such as (those affecting the) liver or heart, like stroke," the minister said in an official statement received here on Saturday.

To prepare for the task of guiding other hospitals, the hospital, which is under the ministry's supervision, has forged collaboration with the United States' Joslin Diabetes Center since 2022 to improve capability, he elaborated.

"Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital's duty is to ensure that there is strong service from the lowest level, the public health centers, to the highest, the hospitals. There is just one goal: reducing citizens' mortality rate from diabetes," Sadikin added.

Acting president director of Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Lies Dina Liastuti, said that currently, the hospital has been tasked with treating diabetic patients using an integrated approach.

The collaboration is expected to improve the capacity of the hospital's human resources so that they can assist regional hospitals in treating the ailment, she added.

"Once we are at their (Joslin's) level, we will then pursue (to support) other hospitals. Joslin Diabetes Center will visit Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital's Diabetes Center Clinic. They will see whether there's a gap in services, and then if our tools are lacking, and so on," she informed.

Afterward, the US-based medical center will give a recommendation to the hospital, outlining things that need to be improved, she added.

Meanwhile, interim chief medical officer and senior vice president of Joslin Diabetes Center, Sanjeev Mehta, said that for nearly six months, his administration conducted discussions to learn about — particularly through Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital's point of view — the management and treatment of diabetes in Indonesia.

After an assessment, the diabetes center will issue a recommendation of best practices for follow-up therapy for the disease, Mehta informed. Once the assessment and comprehensive recommendation have been issued, Indonesia will be offered a chance to participate in the second phase of implementation.

Related news: Diabetes root cause of all diseases, says Health Minister
Related news: Need political will to tackle childhood diabetes: MPR
Related news: Tangerang's TB, diabetes screening service targets 38,000 residents




Translator: Hreeloita Dharma S, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2023