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 1 | LEVEL 2 | LEVEL 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Three years | One year | One year |
| On the job and classroom | Rotate between 118 and hospital departments | On the job and classroom |
| Anatomy and physiology | Intensive therapy unit | Prehospital trauma life support |
| Basic life support skills | Coronary care unit | Prehospital cardiac life support |
| Cannulation | Paediatric and neonatal ICU | Prehospital neurology |
| Administration of drugs | Burns unit | Paediatric and neonatal emergency transport |
| Basic life support | Haemodialysis unit | Urban and rural emergencies (including psychiatry and toxicology) |
| Ambulance driving | Emergency department | Major incidents |
| Medical first responder | Operating theatres | Search and rescue techniques |
| Basic trauma life support | Survival 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)
1972 – Pilot ambulance project established; unable to progress due to financial difficulties and focus on infectious diseases by Dept. of Health
Late-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
Department of Health
- BSB Public Health Office: “Integrated Emergency Management System (SPGDT) – National Guidelines.” (2006)
- Dzulfiqar, F., and B. Riza. 2016, July 1. “Health ministry launched emergency service 119.” Tempo.co. Available at: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/07/01/055784833/Health-Ministry-Launches-Emergency-Service-119 (accessed July 30, 2017).
- First REIT. 2010. Indonesia healthcare market review report. Overview of Jakarta healthcare services market and assessment of specialty hospitals in Indonesia. Available at: https://firstreit.listedcompany.com/newsroom/First_Reit_Circular_10_Nov_2010_Part_2_Low_Res.pdf (accessed July 30, 2017).
- Pitt E, Pusponegoro A: “Prehospital care in Indonesia.” Emergency Medicine Journal 2005;22:144-147.
- Suryanto, Virginia Plummer & Malcolm Boyle (2017): Healthcare System in Indonesia, Hospital Topics, DOI: 10.1080/00185868.2017.1333806
SCOREBOARD
% OF SERIOUSLY INJURED TRANSPORTED BY AMBULANCE IN INDONESIA, 2013
[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]
