VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (Voinews): President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) instructed Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin to find a solution to tackle the problem of a lack of specialty and sub-specialty doctors in Indonesia.

"We still have a problem in the country that there is a shortage of specialty or sub-specialty doctors. I have urged the minister of health to take care of that," Jokowi stated while inaugurating Mayapada Hospital in Bandung, West Java.

Jokowi said that at least two million Indonesians seek treatment abroad, of which one million head to Malaysia, 750 thousand to Singapore, while the rest to Japan, the US, and Germany.

"Do we want this to keep going?" the president stated while adding that some Rp165 trillion (around US$10.7 billion) of foreign exchange was lost since two million Indonesians are seeking treatment abroad.

Despite the prepared medical devices and infrastructure, he pointed out that several aspects, such as the services, still needed to be improved.

Jokowi also urged Sadikin and Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister, Nadiem Makarim, to address issues related to medical education.

"I will ask the education minister to amplify and improve access to the education of specialty doctors, so our sick people can all be handled," he remarked.

He also praised Mayapada Hospital Bandung that also serves patients with state health insurance (BPJS).

"I actually wanted to ask the director of Mayapada Bandung to not only serve the upper middle class, but it turns out that many people with BPJS are already served," Jokowi remarked.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Sadikin highlighted that the government seeks to expedite the process to produce qualified specialty doctors that is based on the standards of each collegium.

"(We will) carry it out in universities and hospitals and coordinate with the Education Ministry to solve obstacles in the field," he remarked.

Mayapada Hospital Bandung (MHBD), which became operational since February 22, applies the green hospital concept based on environmental comfort and safety and has "healing gardens" on each floor as waiting rooms for the patients' families. (Antaranews)