JAKARTA - Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin asked the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemdikbudristek) to accelerate the graduation of prospective nurses and prospective doctors so that they can immediately go to the field to help deal with COVID-19.
This is because the government currently lacks the number of health workers (nakes) to handle the pandemic. Budi said the Ministry of Health had communicated this to the ministry led by Nadiem Makarim.
The Ministry of Health, said Budi, has calculated and needs around 16,000-20,000 additional nurses in 7 provinces. Namely, in Bali, Banten, DI Yogyakarta, DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, and East Java.
"We have mapped about 19,000 nurses who have passed the competency test who have finished school but have not passed the competency test at the final level," Budi said during a virtual working meeting with Commission IX of the DPR, Tuesday, July 13.
In addition to nurses, he continued, the Ministry of Health also needs doctors to anticipate the worst things from handling COVID-19. If, the growth of cases worsens by only 30 percent, then there is a shortage of around 2,200-2,900 doctors.
Budi said, the number of doctors who are in the middle of an internship and will be completed in the near future, there are 3,900 doctors. "Now, we will speed up the entire administrative process, so that they can enter the hospital to be able to treat COVID patients," he explained.
Therefore, the former Deputy Minister of BUMN admitted that the Ministry of Health team had discussed this with the Ministry of Education and Culture to accelerate prospective nurses and doctors so that they could immediately enter the field. These health workers are counted as credits, because they have practiced in the field.
"This should be included as one of the assessment parameters when they graduate," he said.
Meanwhile, regarding the booster vaccination or phase three vaccine for health workers, Budi said that his party plans to do it this week. This booster vaccine, he said, is only intended for health workers so that they can be more resistant in dealing with the influx of COVID-19 patients who enter due to lack of health care discipline.
"We have calculated that even with the third injection, we will give the vaccine moderna for health workers in the form of a booster," said Budi.
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