All the residents of the Southwest Maluku are listed as JKN participants. Health services in the outermost region have been improving with the passage of time. Almost no more residents are treated in Timor Leste.
By
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
·5 minutes read
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Rien Simon (81) received an intravenous drug injection from a nurse at the Wonreli Health Center, Kisar Island, Southwest Maluku Regency, Maluku, on Thursday (20/4/2023).
Rien Simon, 81, was all smiles after Mariana Selan had given him an intravenous drug injection. It was the last injection before he was allowed to go home from the Puskesmas (community health center) of Wonreli, where he was treated as an inpatient for two days. His constipation complaints have been overcome.
Simon was rushed to the Puskesmas located on Kisar Island, Southwest Maluku, Maluku province, on Wednesday evening (19/4/2023) for being unable to defecate for five days.
On Friday evening (21/4/2023), Mariana, the Puskesmas nurse, notified Simon that he was permitted to return home. “Opa [grandpa] needs to consume lots of vegetables, drink enough water and be active,” Mariana advised Simon and the several family members accompanying him.
Opa [grandpa] needs to consume lots of vegetables, drink enough water and be active.
Simon inquired about the costs he had to pay for the treatment received. “It’s free of charge. Bapak is a National Health Insurance (JKN) participant. The premium is paid for by the government. Bapak can just go straight home,” replied Mariana.
At the exit, he was waiting for an ambulance that would take him to his home in North Romleher village, North Kisar district, about a 20-minute drive from the Wonreli Puskesmas. The medical care and drugs as well as ambulance service were all provided for, cost-free.
Before taking leave, the retired private teacher was moved to tears. As a resident on the island directly bordering Timor Leste, he had struggled to secure health care in the past. Limited health service facilities on Kisar Island and nearby islets had forced many people to go to the neighboring country, Timor Leste, for medical treatment.
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Rien Simon (81), a patient, took an ambulance leaving the Wonreli Health Center on Kisar Island, Southwest Maluku Regency, Maluku, on Thursday (20/4/2023).
They can access complete health-care facilities in Ambon, the capital of Maluku, or Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara. However, in order to reach Ambon, they have to sail for at least three days, while the boat trip to Kupang takes at least two days. They also have to prepare a lot more money for transportation.
Lirang Island became the exit gate to Timor Leste. There, they used to get recommendations from the local village head. They hired motorboats to sail to Atauro Island, part of Timor Leste. The trip took around 30 minutes. They were met by a hospital plane from Dili, the capital of Timor Leste.
No treatment costs while in Timor Leste nor air transportation charges were imposed on patients from Indonesia. Indonesian patients enjoyed free health services from the neighboring country. This condition was valid until 2019. “But now we are no longer treated in Timor Leste. Here, the service is getting better,” said Simon.
Improving service
The presence of the JKN program since 2014 has gradually improved health services on the outermost island. Local people are listed as JKN participants with almost the largest part of their premium obligations being borne by the government. Health care facilities have been ordered and medical personnel increased.
According to data from the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) of the Ambon branch, Southwest Maluku residents listed as JKN participants in March 2023 totaled 89,172 people or 100 percent of its population. For Maluku, JKN participants totaled 1,774.977 people or 94.08 percent of its population.
Southwest Maluku is one of the four regencies/cities in Maluku that has achieved universal health coverage (UHC). On 14 March 2023, the Southwest Maluku regency administration received a 2023 UHC Award along with 22 provinces and 334 other regencies/cities in Indonesia. A region is rated as achieving an UHC Award when its JKN participation is over 95 percent of its population.
KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Ustutun Health Center on Lirang Island, Southwest Maluku Regency, Maluku Province on Sunday (7/8/2022).
Saiyed Abdul Gaffar Assaqqaf, head of BPJS Kesehatan Ambon, said the Southwest Maluku regency administration had set a good example. Despite its outermost location still with minimum infrastructure, the development of its health sector receives priority.
“For 2023, a budget worth Rp 8,164,800,000 has been allocated for JKN participation. We keep collaborating for the future, including socializing with various stakeholders. The territory of the regency is indeed difficult because its islets are only accessible by sea,” he added.
Even with 100 percent participation, not all kinds of health services are available on Kisar Island, Wetar Island and Lirang Island. Mexica Ritonga, a nurse at Lirang Puskesmas, said many illnesses could not yet be treated. It is due to minimum equipment and the absence of medical specialists.
Southwest Maluku Regent Benyamin T Noach admitted that medical facilities and personnel were not yet adequately available, so referrals to the nearest hospitals in Kupang became the solution. “The regional administration provides referral funding. Transportation and hospital charges are borne by the region so that patients are not burdened,” he said.
He has proposed the central government to increase surgery facilities in the regional hospital in Moa, the regency capital. He has requested the assignment of medical specialists because of the absence of any one of them.
Step by step, health services for the people in the border region are improving. They are no longer seeking treatment from the neighboring country, which was the case several years ago.
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