VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): The Health Bill proposed by the Health Ministry will provide extra legal protection for health workers, the ministry's spokesperson  Mohammad Syahril affirmed.

"This is stated in the Problem Inventory List (DIM) in the Health Bill that was submitted by the government to the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) on April 5," he said in Jakarta, Sunday (April 9).

Syahril noted that health workers, as the frontline in health services, should have their rights to good legal protection, as they are strategic partners of the government in realizing health transformation.

"Health workers are the government's strategic partners in fulfilling people's basic rights to health. Thus, they must receive proper legal protection," Syahril emphasized.

He explained that in the Health Bill, the government proposes an additional substance regarding the rights of medical students to receive legal protection, which is contained in Article 208E, paragraph (1), letter 'a' of the government's draft proposal.

"Specialist students can receive legal protection," he said.

The Health Bill also contains provisions for the substance of the rights of medical personnel and health workers to stop providing health service if they are subjected to physical and verbal violence, Syahril stated.

He noted that apart from the new proposals, the existing rights for medical personnel and health workers, which had earlier been listed in the existing Health Law, will not be removed.

The substance of legal protection for doctors while practicing in Indonesia is contained in Article 282, paragraph (1), letter a. In addition, article 296 also emphasizes legal protection for medical personnel and health workers, who provide services beyond their competence under certain conditions.

"We will also prioritize an alternative resolution in legal disputes for medical personnel and health workers as stipulated in Article 322, paragraph (4)," he said.

In the Health Bill, Syahril revealed that the government has proposed to eliminate the substance of charges to medical workers and health workers, who have undergone disciplinary hearings or alternative dispute resolution, as stated in article 328 of the Health Bill.

"We propose this substance to be deleted in DIM because it is a criminal and civil law substance," he said. (antaranews)