Turkish rector visits university hospital, locked out in a room

Duvar English

The newly appointed rector of the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University (RTEÜ), located in the northern province of Rize, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Yılmaz has inspected the university's hospital.

During a press conference on Sept. 27, Yılmaz said that he tried to identify the university's problems by visiting the units affiliated with it.

The rector said that at one point during his inspection at the university hospital, he was even locked in the healthcare units.  

"Almost 95 percent of the citizens of Rize told their problems related to health. I first visited our university’s hospital as a citizen, then as a patient and a patient's relative. Then we visited all departments, including the emergency room. Since my appointment is new, most people did not know me. We were even locked in the healthcare units; we could not open the door,” he was quoted as saying by Demirören news agency. 

Yılmaz expressed that the department where patients have the biggest problems in their hospital is the emergency service.

"We can say that the physical conditions of our emergency room are unfortunately the worst that I have ever seen as a physician. Currently, renovation activities are undergoing in the hospital. We are planning to make a modern and bigger building by demolishing the existing emergency service. We plan to finish the work by May 1, 2023."

Medical employees in Turkey have long complained about inhumane working conditions, such as 36-hour shifts, violence against them by patient relatives and insufficient pay.

Several doctors have left Turkey and moved abroad, seeking better conditions.