european magazine
There is a shortage of doctors, particularly in the Kurdish southeast of Türkiye. Many leave because the pay is poor and the grievances are great. Now the health system could be in danger of collapsing.
Many people in Diyarbakir have to wait a long time for specialist appointments. Because there is a lack of doctors in the big city, especially specialists. Many doctors no longer see a future in the Kurdish southeast of the country.
The reasons: The pay is poor, the healthcare system is often dilapidated and the political pressure is high. The health system could be at risk of collapse, says the chairman of the medical association.
Protest hardly possible
There is to be a rally by doctors in front of the local hospital in Diyarbakir in the Kurdish southeast of Türkiye. They want to protest against the massive grievances in the health system.
But a large contingent of security forces prevents them from doing so because the state apparatus has imposed a ban on gatherings. Since the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed three mayors from the pro-Kurdish party in the region, there are now fears of protests against this coercive measure.
Many doctors still came. Your anger is great. They accuse politicians of years of failure and a failed health policy.
Ali Kilic is also there. He has been working as a doctor in a hospital for 16 years. “The problems are getting bigger and bigger,” he says. He can no longer keep up with the treatments, which is why violence from patients is increasing. Uncomfortable doctors who discuss these grievances would be “bullied by the administration.”
Doctors want to protest against the abuses in the health system in front of the hospital in Diyarbakir.
“Up to 70 patients a day”
A few kilometers further, in Baglar, a district of Diyarbakir, Muhammet Can works in a small health center. With a lot of commitment, but under difficult conditions. Because here he can only provide his patients with the bare essentials, only carry out examinations and make diagnoses.
He is usually unable to arrange appointments with specialists. If so, the waiting times are long. There is a lack of specialists everywhere, he says. The 32-year-old general practitioner is currently treating pensioner Abdülkair Topalan. He says he has been waiting for an MRI scan for several weeks now.
But he couldn't go to the booming private hospitals because they were far too expensive for him. Can can only help him with medication. He seems resigned: “I have to work like an emergency doctor. Sometimes I have to treat 60 to 70 patients a day. How can that work? How is that supposed to work?”
That's why Can wants to leave Diyarbakir and Turkey, even if he has a bad conscience towards the people here. He has known many patients for a long time. They have been coming to him since he started working at the health center.
But he is open about his desire to emigrate. A patient's reaction speaks volumes: “It's not possible! If you go, what will we do?” says an older woman waiting outside his doctor's office.
Health system before collapse?
The chairman of the medical association in Diyarbakir, Veysi Ülgen, is observing this development with great concern. Every week he has to issue at least three certificates to doctors who want to emigrate. Ülgen criticizes this, but can also understand that many young doctors no longer see any prospects here.
The health system is now at risk of collapse. Because in some areas there are hardly any specialists left. The patients would then have to go to large cities such as Adana, Ankara or Istanbul for treatment, said Ülgen. But most people don't have the necessary money.
The progressive privatization of the healthcare system by the state is fundamentally wrong, says Ülgen cautiously at the end. He has to be careful because the head of the medical association had already been suspended from duty once for criticizing the government.
Dimen and Muhammet Can are learning German because they want to leave Turkey and set up a practice in Germany.
A new beginning in Germany
After work, Muhammet Can learns German with his wife Dimen. Both want to emigrate to Germany and have applied for a residence permit. To do this, they must reach level B2; the next level is tested on site.
But both are optimistic that they can do it despite the long waiting periods. Above all, they want to give their children a better future, says Muhammet Can. Because he can hardly live on his salary anymore. The inflation that has been high for years has made a regular life impossible.
Muhammet and Dimen Can know that they have to start over in Germany. But they are young, well-educated and dream of having their own medical practice – without patronage from the state.
But other doctors want to stay and fight for reforms and improvements. In Diyarbakir, the announced rally can finally take place despite the ban. But many were put off by the huge police presence. The call for reforms in the health system by the head of the medical association therefore remains largely unheard.
You can see these and other reports in the Europamagazin – on Sunday at 12.45 p.m. on Erste.
