Must Report The Assembly, Doctors Can't And Are Convicted In The Health Law

Illustration of specialist doctors (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Expert Staff for Health Law at the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) of the Republic of Indonesia Sundoyo revealed that doctors and health workers in carrying out their services are more protected in the Health Law (UU) which was just ratified last month. "If doctors and health workers are suspected of committing criminal acts when they provide services and then reported, law enforcement officers are not allowed to immediately carry out examinations," said Sundoyo, to ANTARA, Monday, August 21. Sundoyo said law enforcement officials must first ask for recommendations to an independent assembly, and then an independent assembly will conduct an examination, then give recommendations whether or not an investigation can be carried out. He gave an example, in an emergency condition where health workers must prioritize patient safety, it is possible that there should be extra actions that may be taken outside of routine service standard procedures. "This is indeed in an emergency condition, we must provide legal protection for these health workers because the actions or services can not comply with procedures and service standards to save patients," he said. Currently, said Sundoyo, the government is drafting a derivative rule of the Health Law, and the form of this assembly will most likely be one of the work organs of the Indonesian Medical Consil. (KKKI) and the Indonesian Health Workers Consil (KTKI) for non-doctoral health workers.

To maintain independence in making recommendations, he continued, the panel is planned not only to be filled by doctors but also by community leaders. "The assembly will function to handle allegations of ethical and disciplinary violations," said Sundoyo.