Physicians, the knife is resting on the bone

Hasan Metin TAŞKIRAN
İstanbul

The rise in workload brought about by the pandemic, hardening working conditions, financial difficulties and the never ending violence against health workers has meant that what was once an enviable profession, has now become unbearable by those who work in it. Depleted physicians are resigning, the number of physicians going abroad is increasing day by day.

TTB requests for an appointment from the Ministry of Heath, to discuss the problems they are encountering, has not yet been met. TTB and physicians, who now point out that the knife is pressing on the bone, are preparing for a series of actions with the slogan 'Labour Is Ours, words are ours'. We discussed the problems and demands of physicians with Doc. Dr. Ali Ihsan Okten, the 2nd President of TTB, who will organize a "White March" from Istanbul to Ankara on November 23rd.

PHYSICIANS ARE DEPLETED

Stating that the most fundamental problem is the extortion of economic and personal rights of physicians, TTB’s second President Dr Ali Ihsan Okten said that there has been no improvement in the working conditions, economic and personal rights of health workers, who are the biggest losers in the pandemic. Noting that the pandemic has depleted physicians whose work conditions have deteriorated with many, no longer wishing to work in the profession, Okten said, "The Ministry of Health has made the transformation in health by stepping on physicians and medics; did not give them their right to work, economic and personal rights." Ökten said they were preparing for action because they had so far received no return from the ministry.

'WAGES BELOW THE POVERTY LINE'

The real salary of the physicians is between 5-6 thousand liras, with the additional benefit of the so-called revolving capital which is not reflected in retirement, Okten said that many physicians do not receive this benefit either. Okten said that most physicians are paid below the poverty line, and that they demand a single wage which is to be reflected in retirement and is enough to provide humanely living conditions. Okten said that the revolving capital method is not suitable for the medical profession and said, "This system forces physicians to make mistakes due to performance concerns." Okten stated that the physicians in Turkey were reporting economic struggles. He further declared that, "the physicians are unable to tolerate the economic strains placed upon them. Most physicians can no longer make it to the end of the month."

‘NO HEALTH IN 5 MINUTES'

Okten reminded that the Ministry of Health sent a letter to hospitals saying , 'Make appointments between 5 and 15 minutes for patients', noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) stipulates a 20-minute period for a patient. “But the Department of Health is ignoring it. Five minutes is unacceptable. In 5 minutes, the patient can only be registered, the patient cannot be cared for". Noting the Health Minister's statement on the annual patient numbers, Okten said, "The time allocated to patients must be increased".

‘WE MAY NOT FIND THE PEOPLE TO LOOK AFTER US IN THE TIMES AHEAD’

Emphasizing that violence against health workers is one of the most painful problems, Okten said, "This is gain due to the health policies applied. They lashed out at the physician and health workers and said, 'If they don't open the door for you, you can break it down and go in.' They said, ‘They can't even give you a shot.’ They destroyed the relationship of trust and respect between the physician and the patient." Okten explained that violence in health, worsening working conditions, caring for at least 100 patients a day and the livelihood problem make physicians unable to do their profession in this country, and said “due to this every year more than a thousand physicians are migrating overseas. Newly graduated young physicians are refraining from choosing critical surgical branches. In the future, this society will not find a physician who will carry out their operations and take good care of them."

VOICES CALLING WE CAN NOT MEET OUR LIVELIHOOD ARE RISING

TTB survey results with 6178 physicians from 81 provinces:

* 45 percent of physicians finds their monthly income insufficient

* 76 percent do not receive pandemic surcharges.

* 90 percent think the performance-based supplementary payment system is unfair.

* 92 percent think the latest regulation on violence in health is ineffective.

* 84 percent said they had previously been verbally and physically abused by a patient or relative.

* 68 percent feel that they are not able to adequately and properly care for their patients due to the intensity of their working conditions.

8 THOUSAND PHYSICIANS HAVE RESIGNED

An average of 80 physicians migrate abroad every month. Even during the epidemic, the violence in health did not stop. There were 12,000 reports of violence in 2020. During the epidemic (in 18 months), 8000 physicians resigned. Working conditions have become severe. 1 physician takes an average of 100 patients a day. Appointment times have been reduced to 5 minutes.