Here to answer the request of the people of the Seribu Islands, the Emergency Ambulance ship Prof. Abdulrachman Saleh 01 is the first emergency ambulance ship that is ready 24 hours to serve inter-island emergency conditions in Jakarta.

Previously, ambulances at several health facilities in the Thousand Islands Regency were already there to take patients referred to other health facilities.  However, the special emergency ambulance ship which is ready 24 hours, the Prof. Abdulrachman Saleh 01 ship was the first.

The emergency ship has been planned since 2020. Then, this ship was built in 2021, until it was inaugurated by Governor Anies Baswedan in December 2021. After a long preparation process, on January 1, 2022, this ship began operating dividing the ocean from island to island in the Seribu Islands.

To dive deeper into the struggles of the health workers and crew of the emergency ambulance ship, Ahdi Rajab Malik as the Regional Person in Charge of the Seribu Islands Regency shares his story here. 

Evacuation Flow

In serving and evacuating patients, this boat provides direct emergency services to the community, such as victims of sea accidents, drowning people, and others.  In addition, there are services between health facilities to transport patients from the health post or Puskesmas to the RSUD (regional hospital) in the Seribu Islands or to other hospitals in the city of Jakarta.

When the call appears, the boat will slide to the nearest health facility.  After that, the nurse saw the patients' condition and evacuated them to the boat.  Before moving, the ambulance boat asked for permission to sail to the Seribu Islands Harbor Authority (KSOP) Office.  If it is feasible and allowed to sail, the ambulance will move to the destination health facility.  If the destination health facility is in the city of Jakarta, the boat will sail and then dock at Marina, Ancol.  Arriving at the Marina port, the emergency ambulance on the ground was waiting.  After the health workers on the boat gave a report regarding the patient's condition to the health worker in the ground ambulance, the patient was sent to a referral hospital.

People and visitors in the Seribu Islands can call emergency services directly through the JakAmbulans feature in the JAKI app or call Call Centers 112 and 119. However, if the network is limited on the island, you can visit the nearest health facility, because there will always be officers on standby.  and can contact the ambulance ship by radio. 

To evacuate patients, the ambulance boat Prof.  Abdulrachman Saleh has been equipped with an advance room, an infectious room in which there is a hepa filter, and a basic and perineal room equipped with an incubator.

"Almost every day there are referrals from the island to the mainland," said Ahdi.  In a day, ambulance boats can evacuate 1-3 times even 4 times a day if the weather is good.  The most frequently used references are inter-island referrals in the Thousand Islands.  For example from Tidung Island to Pramuka Island, because on Pramuka Island there are hospitals.

Emergency Boat Resilient Personnel
 

In addition to Ahdi as the Regional Person in Charge and three regional assistants in charge of monitoring performance, the Abdulrachman Saleh 01 boat has operational officers who directly serve the people on the island.  The operational officers consisted of: two captains, two heads of the engine room (KKM) as engine technicians, two crew members (ABK), and eight medical personnel.

In one duty service, there is one captain, one KKM, one crew member, and four nurses who each have special competencies.  Some treat emergency patients, some focus on infectious patients, non-emergency patients, and neonates or specialize in handling newborns. 

These formidable personnel served on guard for seven days in the Seribu Islands.  They live in a guard post on Tidung Island.  After standing guard for seven days without seeing their family, they then took another seven days off to gather with their loved ones.

If there is no emergency call, usually in the morning, the crew works out with the boat wash.  Then they get ready to take a shower and put on their uniforms, only then have morning apples and stand-by waiting for the call.  These officers are on standby 24 hours to serve the community.  They realized that they were the only hope in dealing with emergencies in the Seribu Islands.

Because the task carried out by the crew of the boat is a challenging job, the recruitment cannot be arbitrary.  Human resources are needed who are not only experts in the medical field, but also must be good at swimming, have a high dedication spirit, and can be strong in dealing with stressful conditions.

"Must have a high survival power," said Ahdi.  Because on the island, health workers are faced with various limitations, from transportation, networks, to entertainment.  Not to mention having to sail back and forth between islands.

The current crew are tough personnel who are ready to serve the community.

Challenges of Serving on the AGD Kapal Ship

Of the more than 110 islands in the Thousand Islands, eleven of them are inhabited with their own health facilities.  Due to the different distances of the islands – from an average of one to two hours – and the unpredictable weather, the challenges of serving on the AGD ship are certainly enormous. 

The main challenge is when they have to sail to the mainland and have to face the weather, the boat that are ready to leave have to wait until the weather is safe and allowed to sail by KSOP.  While waiting, the health workers must make good patient observations on the boat.  If it is allowed to sail, then the boat will sail immediately.

The challenge is getting tougher when the weather suddenly worsens in the middle of the voyage.  The health workers must always observe patients in the midst of bad weather, in addition to trusting each other with the captain to bring the boat safely to the mainland while continuing to coordinate with KSOP via radio. 

Waiting for the Next AGD Ship

The people of the Seribu Islands have really benefited from this first boat, so there are plans to add a similar boat to be built in 2022 and will operate in 2023.

The new boat will be on standby in Seribu Utara District.  In addition, there is also a plan to develop mini ambulances on small islands that can quickly transport patients to land.

In accordance with the inspiration for the name of the doctor who fought to save many people in Jakarta, the ambulance boat Prof.  dr.  Abdulrachman Saleh is also expected to be able to save the lives of many people.  Hopefully the handling of emergencies in the Seribu Islands will be more advanced and can be useful for many people!