ER in Palembang

The medical facilities in Palembang is less advanced compared to other places that I have known. Many people from Palembang seek medical attention at hospitals in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore via direct flights when it comes to critical or urgent cases.

Yesterday morning, my supervisor's finger was injured by one of our pneumatic equipment. He had a deep cut on his pointer finger and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital's UGD (Unit Gawat Darurat - Emergency Room).

When he arrived at the ER, the doctors did not treat him immediately. Instead, they asked him to sit down and fill up some paperwork instead! Then they asked whether he has any "letters from the company" to prove that the company is going to bear the medical cost?? We had to prepare a letter and bring it to the hospital for him. What if the accident happened at night? Who is going to prepare the letter??

Anyway, after the doctor examined and X-rayed his finger. The doctor said my supervisor needs to be admitted and wait until the afternoon shift where another doctor can stitch his wound up! This is an ER and they do not have any qualified personnel to do stitching??? I am also puzzled why they even need these "doctors" in the ER??

We could not wait, so we got a referral letter from this hospital to go to the Palembang GH (General Hospital). Supposedly we could get faster medical help. My supervisor's finger has been confirmed to be fractured from the X-ray results. The "doctors" did not give him any pain killers nor any anesthetics but instead just wrapped it up with a bandage. Then, we took him to the Palembang GH which is approx 30 minutes drive away.

When we arrived at the GH, my supervisor told us that it was almost time for SHOLAT (Muslim prayers). I figured that it is an ER in a GH, therefore the doctors COULD NOT POSSIBLY have all gone for their prayers. My supervisor was right. There were no doctors in the ER!!!

There was a "queue" in the ER with 5-6 persons waiting to be attended to. While waiting, we registered and filled up paperwork for my supervisor again. Then we saw a doctor walking out of the room holding his briefcase. "Why is the doctor leaving?", I asked. The people in front of us said, "It is just the change of shift". Phew! I thought we were not going to receive any medical attention!

After awhile, it was our turn. A young doctor took a look at my supervisor's wound and said, " You need to buy some needles, thread and syringes". Huh??? I almost fainted! "Where can we get them?". He pointed outside. We had to walk to this pigeon hole to buy the stuff that the doctor requested.

The attendant looked at the list that the doctor wrote and said, " We have everything here but not the thread that was prescribed". "We only have this type of thread". Panicking, we rushed inside to check with the doctor to see if the thread type is fit for use and luckily he nodded. After buying the medical supplies, the doctor finally stitched up my supervisor's finger.

After all the fiasco, we finally realized how poor the medical support is in Palembang. I am sure it is the same as any other billion-population cities in Indonesia. We were blessed not to have to experience any mishaps that required admission into the ER and hope we won't have to as well in the future. Especially after this incident!!