The Diary Game [Monday, November 25, 2024]: Problems of Doctors on Duty in the Emergency Room

In the past week, we’ve had a major challenge in providing full-time care to our patients. We serve a population of 21,714 people across 50 villages in the Meurah Mulia District, North Aceh Regency.

During an inspection by the North Aceh Regency People’s Representative Council at several health facilities, including Nisam and Muara Batu Districts, we discovered that there were no doctors available at night.

You know, according to the rules set by the Ministry of Health in Indonesia, each doctor should be able to treat around 2,500 people. But that’s not what’s happening right now in North Aceh Regency, and it’s not just there.

Right now, there aren’t enough doctors to provide the services that the Ministry of Health has set out. So, instead of being able to get non-emergency medical care, people have to wait for an on-call doctor to come and visit the emergency room. But if someone has a serious medical emergency, the nurses and midwives who are on duty will take them to the emergency room right away.

On Monday, November 25, 2024, the head of the health service facility (UPTD Meurah Mulia Health Center) reminded everyone to be ready to respond. We need to keep providing the best service to our community, even with only 5 people on staff. We serve 21,714 residents, and we can’t let them down!

“The services we’ve been providing so far are still going strong, including the ones in the building (curative) and the ones outside (preventive and promotive).” - Head of the Health Center, Monday morning assembly.

The on-call doctor’s shift will be tough to handle with limited medical staff. It won’t work if the ER has three on-call doctors who work morning, afternoon, and evening shifts, and even fill holidays after working night shifts.

But we’re working hard to provide the best service at night. We’re sending on-call doctors to live nearby, no more than a kilometer from the health facility. Hopefully, this will help us meet the current needs.

My colleagues and I are working until 4:45 p.m. West Indonesia Time and then going home. But the on-call officers stay on standby 24 hours in the ER and the Puskesmas Inpatient room.

In my free time, I spent the evenings on my Macbook designing a gutter roof for the house I’m building. I came up with the idea of using it as a concrete water reservoir on the roof. That way, when it rains, the water from the roof can flow into the pipe inside the building’s structural pillars.

I’ve been designing this house on my own since I was a consultant. I’m hoping to finish it well, but if I run into any problems, I’ll definitely ask my friend who’s an engineer or an architect for advice.

I don’t need a mansion, but I’d love a cozy home that mixes classic, modern, and tropical styles. It’d be so much fun and feel like my own little slice of paradise!

Indonesia, November 25, 2024
@irawandedy