Indigenous hospital Sintang (Kalimantan)

In the annual report of the Civil Medical Service of 1902 this hospital is mentioned. Daily after the visitation of the inpatients a polyclinic is held. From about 1910  no reports are found about this hospital. It might be that sick prostitutes were the main catagory of the patients and after 1910 the care of sick prostitutes was stopped.

After some time, in 1938,  the existence of a so-called Landschapsziekenhuis at Sintang is reported by H. Waivisz in his Memorandum at the leave of his office (June 1938).
On page 38 of this Memorandum the following is stipulated (translated): “At Sintang a Landscape hospital functions, which has been completely renovated and modernized in 1936. Since December 1934 the management has been handed over to the Mission Sisters Franciscans of Saint Antonius (Mother seat at Asten, Noord-Brabant). The Landschapskas supplies subsidy. The medical supervision is with the Health Officer at Sintang who is in charge of the Civil Medical Service. He is at the same time without compensation Landschapsarts. The personnel: 4 mission nurses and two trained mantri nurses. The hospital supplies medical assistance for the other subdepartments of Sintang as well with exception of Upper Kapoas, which subdepartment has its own Government Indian Doctor.
The hospital is badly needed and owes much to the contribution of the mission sisters who are only partly compensated and who contribute also financially.The capacity of the hospital is 70 beds, but can be expanded. All poor Landscape inhabitants are entitled to free medical care and nursing. Especially the Dajak applies voluntarily for Western medical aid. The medical provisions may be called sufficient.

The Panembahan of the Landscape and the Apostolic Administrator made a mutual agreement on the conditions of providing medical help.

See for the location of the hospital the Heading Maps, subheading Maps hospitals 1940.

In the 1930s Sintang was a department, subdepartment and self-governing Landscape with a capital of the same name and situated in the Residency Westerafdeling van Borneo. An assistent-resident is in charge of the administration. The department Sintang is dividedinto 4 subdepartments: 1. Sintang,; 2.  Melawi; 3. Semitau and 4. Boven-Kapoeas.It has 185,000 inhabitants among whom 46 Europeans and 5,500 Chinese. The subdepartment Sintang has a diplomed ‘gezaghebber’ BB and has 66,000 inhabitants of whom 13 Europeans and 1,700 Chinese. The inhabitants are mainly of the Dajak population group. Some are Malay. There were a lot of revolts and skirmishes from 1816 to 1915,especially in the subdepartment Melawi. In 1913 the controller M.A. Jansen was murdered. The two rivers Soengai Melawi and Soengai Kapoeas meet at Sintang, which grew into a rather important trade town (Gonggryp 1934, 1300-1301).