Healthcare Facilities Reopened

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Vice President Jusuf Kalla (wearing white shirt) visits one of the locations affected by the tsunami in Wani Port, Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi, Friday (05/10/2018).

PALU, KOMPAS – Hospitals and community health centers (puskesmas) in Palu city and Donggala and Sigi regencies, which had been closed following the recent earthquake and tsunami, have now been reopened. Healthcare services at hospitals and puskesmas are currently being supported by 855 volunteers from various professional backgrounds. Two hospital ships are also in operation.

Health Ministry crisis center chief Achmad Yurianto said that the first two weeks after a disaster was an emergency response period, during which the priority was to evacuate injured victims who had difficulties accessing healthcare services. “We are now entering the seventh day [after the earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi], so we have seven days left in the emergency response period,” he said at the Central Sulawesi Health Agency office on Friday, Oct. 5.

There are 50 puskesmas in disaster-affected regions, comprising 19 in Sigi, 18 in Donggala and 13 in Palu. All of them had been closed for the past week as many medical personnel had suffered injuries or losses in the disaster.

No local hospitals have been operating normally since the disaster. Apart from the Anutapura Hospital, which had collapsed, many healthcare facilities are generally in good condition. The reopening of the puskesmas has been deemed vital as they serve as first-level healthcare facilities. “Currently, several puskesmas have reopened. We use tents outside as many are still too afraid to go inside buildings,” Yurianto said.

Anutapura Hospital deputy director of services, Heri Mulyadi, said that many medical volunteers brought their own equipment and could perform surgeries on their own. Of the 60 doctors working at the hospital before the earthquake, only seven doctors are now still working. This shortage of doctors has been overcome by the arrival of 37 local and international medical volunteers.

Another obstacle is the limited amount of medicine for common post-disaster illnesses, including acute respiratory infection (ISPA), diarrhea and skin diseases.

“We need medicines for post-disaster illnesses and also fuel,” He said. The Anutapura Hospital is missing 40 staff members, none of whom can be reached after the disaster. Seven staff members were killed when the hospital collapsed.

Two floating hospitals are also active in Palu and Donggala. The KRI Dr Soeharso ship docked in Pantoloan Harbor on Thursday. The seven medical specialists onboard the ship that has five operating rooms, have completed 12 surgeries, some of which were only finished at 2 a.m. The Ksatria Airlangga floating hospital with two operating rooms has docked in Donggala.

Surabaya’s Dr Ramelan Navy Hospital chief Marine Col. Dr. I Dewa Gede Nalendra said that military doctors would be deployed to isolated regions. “We have several teams. One team can have one doctor. We will pick [the doctors] from volunteers,” he said.

Alternative route

A number of alternative routes have been used to reach isolated regions in Sigi. Police personnel are involved in distributing aid through these alternative routes. Instead of regular trucks, the aid

distribution has relied on four-wheel-drive pickup vans and cars. “We tried to find alternative routes after many access roads were cut off by the earthquake,” Sigi police precinct chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wawan Sumantri said.

A number of companies are involved in distributing aid and helping disaster victims in Central Sulawesi. Diversified conglomerate PT Astra International Tbk and Astra Group subsidiaries, for instance, are involved in the Nurani Astra (Astra’s Conscience) disaster aid program. The first stage of the disaster aid, comprising 260 tens, 60 electricity generators, 1,000 blankets, 1,000 towels, 6.5 tons of rice, 1,900 liters of fuel, food ingredients, bathing equipment and baby and women supplies, arrived in Palu on Monday, Oct 1.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in Palu that the government would build temporary houses for around 30,000 disaster-affected locals in Central Sulawesi. The target is to finish the houses in two months. The project was initiated in a coordination meeting on post-disaster management that Kalla led. In attendance at the meeting were Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, Social Affairs Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) chief Willem Rampangilei, Central Sulawesi Governor Longki Djanggola and Sigi regent Irwan Lapata. Palu Mayor Hidayat and Deputy Mayor Sigit Purnomo Said were not seen at the meeting.

Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said that all foreign aid for disaster victims in Central Sulawesi would be distributed under the TNI’s coordination to ensure administrative orderliness. “Everything is being transported on planes instead of helicopters and only through Balikpapan [in East Kalimantan],” Hadi said after attending the TNI’s 73rd anniversary commemoration ceremony at the TNI headquarters in Cilangkap on Friday. (KOMPAS TEAM)