“Each province should have at least one hospital capable of handling open-heart procedures such as bypass surgery and heart valve replacement,” Budi said during the inauguration of the cooperation between Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital in Makassar and the Saudi humanitarian organization King Salman Relief, in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Tuesday.
In line with this target, the minister said the government will ensure that major hospitals in all 34 provinces have the capacity to perform at least three core open-heart procedures.
As an example, Dr. Wahidin Hospital in Makassar is already capable of performing open-heart surgeries. However, the government remains committed to expanding these services to remote regions.
He added that next week he will attend the launch of the first open-heart surgery procedures in another province, which will reduce travel time for patients who previously had to journey two to three hours to Java.
Regarding the cooperation with King Salman Relief, he noted that it brings not only financial support, technology transfer, and knowledge but also the deployment of advanced medical equipment outside Java for the first time.
“The value of this technological investment is equivalent to billions of rupiah in Indonesia’s healthcare infrastructure,” he said.
According to Dr. Syafri Kamsul Arif, CEO of Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital, the collaboration has a significant impact, as it benefits not only patients in South Sulawesi but also those from Eastern Indonesia, including Papua and Central Sulawesi.
He added that since the program began, 34 successful open-heart surgeries have been performed for both adult and pediatric patients.
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Translator: Suriani Mappong, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Primayanti
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