Labuan Bajo (ANTARA) - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said Labuan Bajo in West Manggarai District, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, would become one of few areas in Indonesia which had special equipment for treating heart and stroke patients.
"Labuan Bajo is one of few regions in Indonesia which can provide medical treatment for people suffering heart disease and stroke," he told the reporters after visiting the Komodo Regional General Hospital (RSUD) here on Sunday.
His visit was aimed to review the preparedness of the Komodo RSUD as a referral hospital ahead of 42nd ASEAN Summit, including the hospital’s catheterization laboratory (cath lab) where the special equipment would be installed.
The 42nd ASEAN Summit is scheduled to take place in Labuan Bajo on May 9-11, 2023.
"There are only a few of these (heart and stroke treatment) devices in Indonesia," he said, adding that only less than 100 of 514 districts/cities in the country have now had the medical facilities.
He expected that the equipment would arrive at Komodo RSUD at around 08:00 p.m. on Sunday and the installation of the device could be completed in the next two or three days.
Sadikin has said that the provision of the device is important because the two diseases must be treated quickly and are among the top causes of death in Indonesia.
Furthermore, to optimize the use of all facilities in the hospital, he asked the head of West Manggarai District, Edistasius Endi, to encourage the best local doctors to apply for scholarships provided by the Health Ministry.
"The hospital has been improved, the equipment is great, (and) the public need it (the heart and stroke treatment). Thus, they (the medical scholars originating from NTT) (should) return to work in NTT, saving (the lives of the people of) NTT," the minister remarked.
Earlier, Secretary General of the Health Ministry Kunta Wibawa Dasa Nugraha said that heart disease and stroke were among four non-communicable diseases that involve long medical treatment and high costs.
The National Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) recorded that the agency spent Rp12.14 trillion (US$818.9 million) on the treatment of 15.4 million heart disease cases and Rp3.23 trillion (US$217.9 million) for the handling of 2.5 million stroke cases in 2022.
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