In a statement received in Jakarta on Monday, the minister noted that the rate of doctors produced every year in Indonesia is not at par with the country's population.
Sadikin also drew attention to the difficulties faced by the government to ensure adequate numbers of specialist doctors for the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara despite having made utmost efforts to develop medical facilities there.
"I have participated in groundbreaking ceremonies of four hospitals in IKN. Everyone is confident that the development of the hospitals will complete in July (of 2024). However, it is still difficult to find the doctors, especially those having specialties," he remarked.
Sadikin also observed that during his recent visit to the Sepaku Regional Public Hospital at the IKN development site, no anesthesia specialists, surgical specialists, and orthopedic specialists were stationed at the hospital.
As a result, patients had to be transferred to hospitals in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, located three to four hours from IKN, to receive the necessary treatments, he pointed out.
"Hence, we have devised a hospital-based (specialist medical education) program to push 300 type A and type B hospitals to be able to quickly produce specialist doctors," he affirmed.
The minister expressed belief that the program would help Indonesia resolve issues related to the uneven distribution of specialist doctors. Indonesia should be able to produce more than 30 thousand doctors every year, he remarked.
He said through the program, the government is prioritizing to educate employees of related hospitals, with the objective of providing the hospitals with the specialist doctors they need.
The program also offers educational activities at lower costs, he added.
Furthermore, he revealed that the Indonesian government is planning to emulate its Indian counterpart's step to send national doctors to study abroad.
The minister also suggested transferring Indonesian doctors to work in overseas hospitals and vice versa in the hopes of sparking competition between Indonesian and foreign doctors.
He believes such a competition, in turn, is expected to enhance the competency of doctors.
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Translator: Sean M, Tegar Nurfitra Putra Rofian
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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