A Bekasi woman named Reny Wahyuni, 40, lost her newborn minutes after giving birth to her on Sunday morning.
While infant mortality remains a tragic problem throughout Indonesia, Reny’s story has gained national attention because the mother, who was eight months into her pregnancy, was previously refused care by seven hospitals in Bekasi despite being enrolled in the BPJS national healthcare plan.
According to Reny’s husband, Hari Kustanto, the pair sought to get immediate medical attention for Reny’s pregnancy complication at hospitals in Bekasi. Over three days, they were refused by six private hospitals as well as the state-owned Bekasi Regional Hospital – all of which are supposed to accept BPJS patients. Every hospital that rejected Reny did so for the same supposed reason – their intensive care units were already full.
Reny was eventually accepted at the Koja Regional Hospital in North Jakarta, where she underwent a c-section. Unfortunately, minutes after giving birth, her baby passed away due to breathing problems.
Upon hearing the news, Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi said he would launch an investigation into why seven hospitals, including a state-owned hospital, refused Reny.
“She is a BPJS patient. Let alone the original card, but even if she just showed a photocopy of it she must be treated at the hospitals,” Rahmat said, as quoted by BeritaSatu yesterday.
Rahmat added that, even if the ICU units are full, hospital staff should have been proactive in ensuring people like Reny got medical attention elsewhere.
“The staff at Bekasi Regional Hospital should have acted fast. They could’ve taken her to the Ciptomangunkusumo Hospital or Pusat Persahabatan Possible immediately,” he said.
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