Paper for the Workshop on
‘Disaster Management for the Health Sector in Indonesia’,
Bali Padma Hotel, Kuta, 11-13 Juni 2003
VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE AT SANGLAH HOSPITAL
AFTER THE KUTA BLAST (12-10-2002)
Sita T. van Bemmelen1
Trauma counseling and other follow-up services
Another aspect of support was trauma counseling.
Counseling services were provided by a foreign volunteer
psychiatric nurse fluent in Indonesian to patients and
hospital staff at the Melati ward. Families of victims
also received such service. These services were continued
by IMC after the patients were released from the hospital.
Trauma counseling for volunteers, the community in Kuta
and elsewhere as well as for the hospital staff were also
provided by the IMC, BIMC, English consulate and by Sanglah
hospital. Such services should be part of an emergency
plan as well.
At the end of the third week after the bomb, a major
concern ran through the volunteer group as one of the
morgue workers contracted typhoid.19 Fears
were raised about the potential for morgue volunteers
(there were over 250) to have contracted various diseases
from body fluids leaking from body bags onto feet
either bare or in thongs. The volunteers who worked at
ground zero, in the morgue and in the wards were contacted
either by email or sms, to inform them that they could
make use of testing, consultation and counseling to two
selected medical clinics.20 Not all eligible
volunteers made use of the service, and the potential
for disease was considered very low, but the service was
essential for providing peace of mind to all these volunteers
at a time when many were still highly stressed from the
sights and experiences they had been through in the preceding
weeks.21
Recommendations:
Include trauma counseling service in
the emergency plan, both for victims, their families,
volunteers and hospital staff.
Include medical check-ups for hospital staff
and volunteers if they have been working under
conditions that may negatively affect their health.
19 This service was only possible
because of the foresight of the person in the Hotline
Centre who organized compiling of the volunteer
database including functions performed. 20 Funded by one of the foundations and
Australian consulate. 21 Names of volunteers who received testing
etc were passed back to the volunteer database coordinator
(Bali Hati) for record updating
