90 percent of Turkish physicians exposed to violence, TTB reports

Duvar English

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) prepared a report from the Workshop on Violence in Health held on Dec. 16-17, the daily Cumhuriyet reported on May 11. 

According to the report, nine out of 10 physicians said in a survey that they were exposed to violence at least once during their working lives.

Moreover, six out of 10 physicians said they had experienced violence by their patients or the patient relatives in the last year.

The report said the legislative amendments, dubbed “white reforms,” and prepared by the Health Ministry without consulting professional organizations could not solve violence.

“We still feel violence in our workplaces with uneasiness, and moreover, the fact that the environment of violence has become a part of our working lives prevents the provision of health services,” it added.

The report cited the failure to get early appointments, prolonged waiting times at the clinics due to the short appointment times, failure to allocate the minimum time required by the patient's condition, in short, failure to receive early and qualified service due to time pressure as the reason for violence.

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) reported that 700 doctors applied for the Certificate of Good Standing necessary for job applications abroad in the first three months of 2024. The number stood at 3,025 for 2023.

Overtime, long shift hours, low wages, lack of merit, cases of violence in healthcare, mobbing and harsh working conditions have led to the departure of many physicians in recent years.

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