The Şişli Etfal Hospital, a rooted public hospital in İstanbul, Turkey, was decided to be split into two different hospitals and to be moved to different locations in the city in the guise of renewal, which is protested by health workers and people.
Following the AKP government's decision, workers at the hospital formed a group named “Solidarity for Şişli Etfal”, and started a petition against the split-up and moving, demanding the on-site renewal of the hospital building. The group also made a press statement in front of the hospital on May 31, and deliver the signatures collected to the Şişli District Health Directorate.
It must be noted that healthcare in Turkey has been in a privatisation process that was accelerated by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the guidance of the World Bank, and nearly 1/3 of healthcare services in the country is now provided by the private sector.
Two health workers working at the hospital were interviewed by soL, and explained why they were against the moving and split-up.
Stating that the moving project is not handled properly and it has changed 3 or 4 times so far, the workers explained that the hospital is to be split up because some of the departments could not be fit in the building at one location, though they were included in the first plans of the project, and the space previously allocated to those departments has vanished inexplicably.
The workers stated that the healthcare-management mentality of the AKP resembled hotel management, which has resulted in hospital compounds with less open-air areas. Noting that the restructuring plan had a legitimate rationale, since the current hospital building is a very old one, the workers explained that their objection primarily rose from the point that the current compound had sufficient space for on-site reconstruction and renewal.
The Şişli Etfal Hospital is one of the most neatly organised and versatile multidisciplinary hospitals in the country, and the training provided for active and intern medical doctors is top-quality. The decision to split and move the hospital will also disrupt the organisation and training system.
The workers told soL that they had asked the Provincial Health Director whether there would be a new hospital in the current one’s place, and that the Director had beaten about the bush. The workers also pointed out that medical tourism has a significant place in the AKP’s electoral promises, and that they suspected that, if the hospital was split up and moved, the site of the hospital might as well host a shopping mall in the future.
Transportation is another problematic issue for both the patients and health workers. The hospital currently has a very central position in the district, and the people who work there have established a life the neighbourhood.
However, the two hospital buildings to host the current one are more difficult to reach for several reasons – inadequacy of public transportation, traffic density, etc. Moreover, one of the buildings is very close to one of the biggest stadium complexes, and it would be particularly hard for people to reach the hospital on football match days.
The workers told that the hospital receives 700.000 patients in a month, and that the hospitals near it would not bear that capacity.
The workers emphasised that privatisation would make it harder for people to receive healthcare services, which would also cause an increase in the cases of violence against healthcare workers.
The demands of the “Solidarity for Şişli Etfal” group are clear: on-site renewal and reconstruction of the hospital so that it can provide the same service in the same place. They also ask people to help them raise their voice, since it is an issue that will have negative impacts on public healthcare. They ask people to sign the petition, and join with them against the split-up and moving plan.
