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Dial 119 to call an ambulance in Indonesia

Indonesia: Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services

AT-A-GLANCE

DIAL 119 to CALL AN AMBULANCE IN INDONESIA

  • Until 2016, 118 was the official emergency number on West Java and it may still be worth trying
  • Outside of West Java island dialing 112 may also work, but likely better finding your own transport
  • Indonesia has begun to earnestly seek developing a national EMS system, but with nearly 1,000 inhabited islands spread over several thousand miles, private and alternative emergency services will continue to be relied on

HOW CAN I CALL AN AMBULANCE IN INDONESIA?

DIAL 119 TO CALL AN AMBULANCE IN INDONESIA

  • If you’re in one of the 27 biggest cities, most of which are on Java Island [Source: Tempco.co]

You may be able to call the National Command Centre (NCC) by dialing 119 from anywhere in Indonesia, but your best chances of getting an ambulance will be on the island of Java

GROUND AMBULANCE IN INDONESIA:

  • 118 was the official emergency number on the island of Java until 2016; several metropolitan EMS systems are still available by dialing this number
  • 112 may work elsewhere, but no guarantee; better to prepare by searching local numbers on our Indonesia EMS Coverage Map (above)

OTHER EMERGENCY RESPONSE NUMBERS:

  • Dial 113 for Fire Department
  • Dial 115 for Search and Rescue (SAR)
  • Dial 123 for Police
  • Dial 129 for natural disaster command center

[Source: BMJ.com] There are three levels of paramedic at 118 Emergency Ambulance Service:

LEVEL 1LEVEL 2LEVEL 3
Three yearsOne yearOne year
On the job and classroomRotate between 118 and hospital departmentsOn the job and classroom
Anatomy and physiologyIntensive therapy unitPrehospital trauma life support
Basic life support skillsCoronary care unitPrehospital cardiac life support
CannulationPaediatric and neonatal ICUPrehospital neurology
Administration of drugsBurns unitPaediatric and neonatal emergency transport
Basic life supportHaemodialysis unitUrban and rural emergencies (including psychiatry and toxicology)
Ambulance drivingEmergency departmentMajor incidents
Medical first responderOperating theatresSearch and rescue techniques
Basic trauma life supportSurvival skills
Basic cardiac life support
Basic paediatric life support
Basic neurology

In major cities, conventional ambulances will transport you to the nearest hospital.

Private medical evacuation companies are also available for helicopter and fixed-wing air ambulance transport.

There are over 1,500 hospitals in Indonesia. Included here is a list of hospitals participating in the government’s new 119 system:

  • Harapan Kita Heart Hospital
  • RSAB Harapan Kita
  • Fatmawati Hospital
  • Persahabatan Hospital
  • Gatot Subroto Hospital
  • Cengkareng Hospital
  • Koja Hospital
  • Tarakan Hospital, and
  • Emergency Room Ambulance of DKI Jakarta Provincial Health Office

[Source: depkes.go.id]

118 Emergency Ambulance Foundation shows prices on their website for basic and advanced scheduled transports.

ADDITIONAL INFO

Common Emergencies in Indonesia
  • Earthquake
  • Tsunami
  • Floods and landslides
  • Volacones
  • Security threats
  • Road traffic injuries – “In 1991, 50,000 people died of injuries but only 4,000 of them in hospital – raising the question ‘where did the rest die?’” (Pitt 2005)
Recommended Vaccinations for Indonesia

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), different groups of travelers will require different vaccinations for travel in Guatemala:

  • All Travelers
    • Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine
    • Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine
    • Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine
    • Polio vaccine
    • Your yearly flu shot
  • Most Travelers
    • Hepatitis A
    • Typhoid
  • Some Travelers
    • Hepatitis B
    • Japanese encephalitis
    • Malaria
    • Rabies
    • Yellow Fever – “There is no risk of yellow fever in Indonesia. The government of Indonesia requires proof of yellow fever vaccination only if you are arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever. This does not include the US.” See full list here.

Zika virus is a threat in Indonesia (read more)

Read more about travel in Indonesia at the CDC website:  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/indonesia/ (Last accessed: Aug. 7, 2017)

1969 – Indonesian Surgeon’s Association (ISA): “acknowledged that despite 70% of the country’s trauma deaths resulting from traffic accidents, it had no prehospital system to deal with this” (Pitt, 145)

Ÿ1972 – Pilot ambulance project established; unable to progress due to financial difficulties and focus on infectious diseases by Dept. of Health

ŸLate-1980s/1990s – re-acknowledgement of government for need of prehospital system and expansion of existing resources

  • 118 Emergency Ambulance Service:
    • Foundation for 118 was developed by ISA, working with municipal offices of 5 biggest cities (Jakarta, Palembang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Makasser; Malang and Denpasar included later)
    • Headed development of public system for paramedic-staffed ambulances

2010 — Governor Law No. 144 is passed, converting 118 emergency services in Jakarta into “Ambulans Gawat Darurat Dinas Kesehatan Provinsi DKI Jakarta (AGD DINKES) with the 118 call center becoming a Public Service Agency or Badan Layanan Umum under the provincial government”. (Suryanto, 2017)

  • Competing private services and lack of funding in some of the pilot cities resulted in the closing of 118 services in some cities

2013 — Government launches 119 in Jakarta

2018 — Government launches 119 as national emergency number with services available in 27 cities

ŸDepartment of Health

SCOREBOARD

% OF SERIOUSLY INJURED TRANSPORTED BY AMBULANCE IN INDONESIA, 2013

< 10%

[Source: 2013 Global Status Report on Road Safety, WHO]

ROAD TRAFFIC INJURY DEATHS
(PER 100,000 POPULATION)

[Source: 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, WHO]

REPORTED HOMICIDES
(PER 100,000 POPULATION)

[Source: 2014 Global Status Report on Violence Prevention, WHO-UNDP]

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