Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the fellowship is an effort to expedite cardiovascular disease interventions, considering that the health issue kills 500 thousand Indonesians every year.
He highlighted the need to ensure the availability of cardiovascular specialists at the city level since there's a golden period for cardiovascular medical interventions.
"This disease must be handled ideally under two hours, for heart disease, or under one hour for strokes. The maximum for heart disease is six hours, whereas stroke is 4.5 hours," he noted at a send-off event for the doctors here on Monday.
Thus, by placing them at the city and district levels, their services will be made closer to the public, ensuring quicker lifesaving action, he explained.
Currently, at least 350–400 doctors are needed to cover 514 cities and districts, he informed. To ensure the availability of the services at all times, he said, at least three cardiovascular specialists are needed to run three shifts, bringing up the needed human resources to about 1,500.
He added that the available national quota for their education is limited to 30–50 annually, hence the government is seeking to send the doctors to study overseas.
Other than offering fellowships, the ministry is also seeking to improve national cardiovascular services and health by providing medical devices, and financial coverage, and by highlighting promotive and preventive health approaches, he said.
On the same occasion, the head of National Cardiovascular Collegium (JPDI), Renan Sukmawan, said that China and Japan have been selected as destination countries because they allow participants to study through a hands-on approach.
"If you go there just to look at (the operation being done), that's not fellowship, that's observership. They must be able to do (the operation) on the patient," he said.
Places like America only allow observership, he noted, moreover, they require the participants to take additional tests and exams.
The skills that the participants will learn under the fellowship program will include placing stents and identifying complications, he added.
He informed that the JPDI, Harapan Kita Cardiovascular Hospital, and National Cardiovascular Medical Association (PERKI) collaborated to select the doctors who will study overseas and those who will stay in Indonesia to ensure that cardiovascular services remain running during the fellowship program.
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Reporter: Mecca Yumna Ning Prisie
Editor: Primayanti
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