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Jakarta (ANTARA) - Tucked away and far from the country's main economic heartbeat, Lampung's West Pesisir District is rarely in the national spotlight.

It is not always easy to access referral healthcare there. For years, residents in need of advanced medical treatment had to travel more than three hours just to reach the nearest Type B hospital.

However, the atmosphere in Krui, the capital of West Pesisir, was noticeably different on Wednesday (June 10, 2026). The usually quiet area was suddenly bustling with tight security and protocols ahead of President Prabowo Subianto's arrival.

The president was there to inaugurate the upgraded KH Muhammad Thohir Regional General Hospital (RSUD), which is included in the government's healthcare quick-win program.

The inauguration marked the completion of the physical construction process that began with a groundbreaking on June 13, 2025, funded by the 2025 state budget to the tune of Rp152.98 billion (approximately US$8.6 million).

The transformation goes far beyond a new physical structure. The hospital has been upgraded from a Type D to a Type C facility—a leap that requires the permanent availability of basic medical specialists and various supporting services that were previously nonexistent.

Inpatient bed capacity has expanded from 59 to 101 beds. Essential facilities that locals once struggled to access are now available in Krui, ranging from an emergency room (ER) and outpatient clinics to an intensive care unit, a hemodialysis center, radiology services, and a laboratory.

This upgrade is set to continue. In 2026, the hospital is scheduled to receive additional medical equipment, including a 64-slice CT scanner, mammography machines, and ventilators. By the following year, a cath lab and echocardiography facilities will be added to strengthen the hospital's healthcare capabilities.

On that occasion, President Prabowo announced the Indonesian government's target to build and renovate around 300 to 400 hospitals across districts in Indonesia in the next three years as part of efforts to bolster national health services.

The program will also include the distribution of nearly 1,000 units of modern medical equipment to regional general hospitals.

Yet, in the healthcare sector, a brand-new building and sophisticated equipment are only part of the solution. Ultimately, the quality of care is determined not just by technology but by the availability of healthcare professionals who can operate and utilize it to its fullest potential.

Human resources

The healthcare quick-win program currently covers 66 regional hospitals across remote, border, and island regions.

The facilities of 32 hospitals were upgraded in 2025, with the remaining 34 scheduled for 2026. On the physical front, construction is moving relatively on track. However, as the buildings take shape and the equipment arrives, a far more fundamental question arises: who will operate them?

Ministry of Health data reveals that 39 of the 66 target hospitals still lack the full complement of seven basic and supporting specialties required for a Type C hospital.

The shortage of basic specialists across all targeted hospitals is estimated at 217 doctors. This figure does not even account for the specialist requirements for cancer, heart disease, stroke, and uro-nephrology services, which face a projected shortfall of another 392 doctors.

Overall, the total need for the seven basic specialists across all targeted hospitals stands at 1,270 doctors.

The KH Muhammad Thohir Regional General Hospital is a case in point. Based on the ministry report, the hospital currently has 13 general practitioners, 76 nurses, and 52 midwives.

However, it only has five medical specialties available: pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, surgery, radiology, and anesthesiology. Specialists in cardiology, neurology, pathology, and urology—all required to meet the target for intermediate-level healthcare services—are still unavailable.

Plans to fulfill the need for additional specialists are scheduled through the civil servant recruitment channel, the medical specialist utilization program (PGDS), and temporary deployments spanning the 2025–2027 period.

However, the deployment faces structural limitations as these assignments only last for an average of one to two years, lack long-term sustainability, and offer no career certainty. Furthermore, most specialists currently stationed at regional hospitals included in the quick-win program are non-civil servants—a precarious mix of public service agency personnel, resident doctors, and doctors with local contracts.

In response to this issue, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture in March 2026 urged that medical specialists at the upgraded regional hospitals be recruited primarily as permanent civil servants rather than contract-based government employees.

The goal is to provide stronger career stability while making regional placements more attractive.…