Adding More Hospital Beds Not the Best Solution to Curb Covid-19, Says Indonesian Doctors Association

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) said on Monday that hospital beds in the Greater Jakarta area are fully occupied, urging the government to involve general practitioners in handling the Covid-19 cases.

IDI’s deputy chairman Slamet Budiarto said that a decision to add more hospital beds following the spike in bed occupancy rate (BOR) can no more be a solution in overcoming the Covid-19 cases.

“It is impossible for the hospital as it is overloaded,” Slamet told Kompas.com on Monday, February 1.

Also read: President Jokowi Orders Quarantines As Indonesian Covid-19 Cases Pass 1 Million

“Adding more beds for Covid-19 patients will only reduce hospital capacity for non-Covid patients,” he added.

Slamet suggested that the role of general practitioners can be intensified in clinics and independent practice places. Thus, he added, the burden on hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients can be reduced.

"Yesterday we suggested [patients with mild Covid-19 symptoms] to be treated at homes and monitored by general practitioners," said Slamet.

Also read: Indonesia Almost Runs Out of Beds to Treat Covid-19 Patients

Previously, the Jakarta City Administration claimed that the data on BOR for isolation and intensive care units (ICU) rooms in 101 Covid-19 referral hospitals has reached 87 percent as of January 17. However, it turned out otherwise as none of the hospitals claimed to have a vacant bed in their ICUs.

A spokesperson for the National Covid-19 Task Force Wiku Adisasmito shared a similar sentiment.