Viral Video Of DHF Patients Exploding At Bekasi Hospital, Ministry Of Health: The Information Is Excessive

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) confirmed that a video showing the situation of the Emergency Installation room of the Regional General Hospital (IGD RSUD) in Bekasi City, West Java, had exploded due to a surge in dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) patients as invalid information.

"According to information from the local hospital, the video is invalid or a hoax," said Director of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases at the Ministry of Health, Imran Pambudi, confirmed as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, May 7.

In a 34-second video circulating in a number of WhatsApp groups since Monday, it contains footage of the patient care bed situation in the ER room of Chasbullah Hospital Abdulmadjid Bekasi City, Jalan Pramuka, Marga Jaya Village, South Bekasi District, which is full of patients.

In fact, it appears that a number of pediatric patients to the elderly who do not get a bed must be treated using a wheelchair with an IV tube that is still attached to the arm.

"The condition of the emergency room at the Bekasi City Hospital is currently full. The inpatient room is full. The dengue is extraordinary, please prevent each other's homes and RT/RW administrators do fogging for their respective environments, friends. DHF emergency Bekasi and not a few victims have died," said the narration in the video post.

According to Imran, the local hospital has submitted a rebuttal to the information to the Bekasi City Government and the Ministry of Health.

In his report to the Ministry of Health, said Imran, the number of DHF patients at the Bekasi City Hospital reached 490 people from January 1 to May 6, 2024, five of whom were reported to have died.

The patient composition consists of 224 pediatric patients and 266 adult patients.

The Director of the Bekasi City Hospital, Kusnanto, stated that the video was too much, although it was admitted that the ER visit was very high and has always been full since dengue cases increased in the last six months.

"This is too much. The condition of the ER room at the Bekasi City Hospital on May 5, 2024 is quite conducive," he said, calling the video not from his side.

He explained that hospital services continued to run well, although in the last 6 months there had been an increase in patient visits and an increase in hospitalizations due to the spread of respiratory infection diseases and dengue fever.

He said the duration of service in the ER since the patient arrived until the diagnosis and inpatient or outpatient decision was in accordance with standard operating procedures of up to 6 hours.

"Under certain conditions, service delays occur so that it is more than 6 hours due to the full condition of the inpatient room," he said.

So that under these conditions, said Kusnanto, efforts are made to continue to accommodate inpatient needs by implementing a flexibility policy in the inpatient room based on the increasing trend of disease.

"If the bed capacity of the inpatient room remains full, the patient is motivated to be referred, but is often constrained due to the patient or family refusal," he said.