CONCLUSION
The Sanglah response to the Kuta blast challenge to its
health services included the use of services provided
by volunteers. It is difficult to make an assesment of
the importance of volunteer assistance within the overall
framework of handling the crisis. Therefore I will refrain
from that. However, one generalized conclusion can be
drawn. All in all, the Kuta blast challenge to Bali’s
health services shows that in case of disaster, civil
society can be mobilized to the benefit of the common
good. It depends on the relevant institutions, such as
in Bali the Sanglah Hospital, how to make optimal use
of it in the future.
Apart from this, I like to share four more detailed observations
with you:
First, despite the lack of sufficient organisation and
coordination between hospital and volunteer groups and
between volunteer groups themselves, it is astonishing
how ad hoc working relationships developed spontaneously
and how much useful work was done.
Another observation is that volunteer assistance
was largely useful because it was complementary to
the hospital’s core task: providing medical
treatment and care. This counts for the information desk,
hotline, crisis center, data collection, heavy labour
at the morgue, family support services. What could be
improved is the level of coordination, which should remain
firmly in the hands of the hospital emergency team.
A third observation is that to some extent volunteer
assistance implied invasion of areas that actually
should be part of the core responsibilities of the
hospital in case of an emergency. Examples are control
over data collection, intake and distribution of donated
medicines, and ante- and post-mortem services at the morgue.
To some extent this was inevitable as the hospital did
not have enough or could not free professional staff for
these purposes, or hospital staff did not have the skills
and/or means to take on these responsibilities on short
notice. An emergency plan for the future should take this
into account.
Fourth, I like to point out, that Bali may have special
‘assets’ compared to other regions. Most
community organizations in Bali who were involved, are
of long standing on the island and many have a more or
less established network with government institutions.
Moreover, Bali has a large community of non-Balinese,
including expatriates living in Bali (semi) permanently.
This turned out to be an advantage because of the international
scope of the disaster. But above all, volunteer work is
a matter of the heart. I believe that everyone concerned
was driven by something very special: a heightened sense
of solidarity with Bali, in its darkest hour.
Denpasar, 8 June 2003
amba@dps.centrin.net.id
