TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-The Health Ministry has launched a medical emergency service through phone call to 119 starting today to assist people for a quick respond during an emergency situation.

The service is available to handle emergency situations usually experienced by most people including cerebrovascular, traffic accident, and ischemic heart disease.

“This medical emergency service via 119 can be accessed by everyone freely through mobile phones and telephones,” Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek said during the soft launching event at the National Command Center (NCC) 119 in Jakarta, on Friday, July 1, 2016.

The service is managed by NCC which is located in the Health Ministry’s Office Jakarta. When there is an incoming call, the NCC will connect the caller with the Public Safety Center (PSC), which is available in every city to be further dealt with.

The PSC will then link the nearest health care facility to the location of the incident. PSC can monitor the availability of health services including rooms, ambulance, and emergency units. “We realize that there are still many flaws during the launch. We only have 10 NCC operators, so there might be call waiting and unanswered calls,” said Nila.

The potential connection interruption between NCC and PSC might also still occur. The human resources in PSC and ambulances are inadequate. The health ministry is currently trying to evaluate the issues.

During the launch, 119 service is only available in 27 locations in Indonesia, mostly in Java Island.

FAUZY DZULFIQAR | BUDI RIZA