Ever since I got to know about healthcare and medicine, it has always been about money. I can still remember how my uncles and aunties used to complain about public hospitals and clinics having bad services, saying even just to get a smile from the nurses or the doctors is rare.

On the other hand, private hospitals provide pretty much good healthcare and services, but we all know that in return the expenses are not something that most of the people won’t have second thoughts about.

However, my example regarding healthcare services changed recently when I was stationed at Mardi Waluyo Hospital Metro in Lampung, Indonesia. Mardi Waluyo Hospital is a private hospital under Christian Welfare for Public Healthcare.

This is the first time that I have come across a philosophy of having a private hospital not for business or some sort of investment, but purely for serving the people. The rate offered to the patients is just to get them back the money to run the hospital as it is.

You can just imagine, it cost you only IDR50,000 (RM20) for a circumcision by a surgeon. The same rate for ultrasonography check-up by the obstetrician and consultation for an internist. They also have a programme called Gakin (‘keluarga miskin’ or poor family). People can just request this status at the administration without any terms and conditions, and they will try to cut the cost of the medical services.

I was touched by their daily reminder to the staff about ‘love and caring’, ‘work is worship’, ‘cure with touch and affection’. I can never forget the advice I got from my mentors about not to think about money in this holy service.

I have never come across a single nurse who shows anger towards patients, that even I cannot stand sometimes. I have seen how my surgeon consultant, Dr Paran Bagionoto wrote ‘Operasi Dr Paran gratis’ (my operation fee is free) on his prescriptions. So my obstetrician and intern consultant did the same thing whenever their patients were moaning about their financial problems.

We were occasionally told that ‘people came here with hope, never charged them till they go homeless’. One time, I saw a patient come here with tumours in her mandibula (jaw bone). The cost for her to undergo surgery in Jakarta would have been IDR40 million (RM20,000), something she could not afford.

But the surgeon here offered to do the mandibula resection and platting for just IDR4 million (RM2,000). This is amazing. Not surprisingly, the number of patients here is growing. That’s because they know, here they can get good services with a low price.

Nevertheless, this hospital has one shortcoming – the facilities are not advanced enough. Yet, people still come here. It is true that humans are the real asset in healthcare and people come here for the service and love.

So the management are doing their best to raise money to upgrade their facilities through charity and donations. There are new buildings undergoing construction and they are facing deficits. If only there are people out there that care enough for good deeds, I would like them to come here and see with the services here with their own eyes – and then help them financially or in any other way that matter.

People say that in receiving medical care, you have to choose between ‘expensive and caring’ or ‘cheap and ignorant’. Here, they managed to make caring and cheap into a package. Wise people say that ‘health is an investment’, and that is absolutely true.

However, there are a lot of people out there who mistakenly think that ‘healthcare is an investment’.

The writer is a Malaysian medical student in training .