Birlik and Solidarity Union Reacts to Health Conditions in Hatay

Birlik and Solidarity Union Chairman Dr. Ahmet Mehlepçi announced that primary health care services in Hatay are provided in inadequate containers without toilets, and that healthcare workers and citizens are struggling with difficult conditions.

Difficult Conditions in Hatay

Birlik and Solidarity Union Chairman Dr. Ahmet Mehlepçi stated that even though 44 months have passed since the February 6 earthquakes, primary healthcare services in Hatay are still being carried on under heavy conditions.

Visiting Hatay to examine the problems of healthcare workers on-site, Mehlepçi announced that healthcare laborers are forced to work in containers that do not even have a toilet and face eviction threats.

Earthquake Victim Healthcare Workers

Emphasizing that family physicians, midwives, and nurses working in the earthquake zone work in cramped spaces affected by the heat in summer and cold in winter, Dr. Mehlepçi stated that the workers are already tired and exhausted.

Pointing out that the conditions of healthcare workers serving in Hatay are much more severe, Mehlepçi stated that it is forgotten that they are also earthquake victims and that they are almost additionally punished for working in the region.

Turunçlu Family Health Center

Citing the Turunçlu Family Health Center in Defne district as an example, Mehlepçi conveyed that health services are trying to be provided to approximately 15,000 to 20,000 people in this five-unit center.

Stating that instead of thanking healthcare workers, pressure is being put on them to vacate the area, Mehlepçi noted that the center is trying to provide services inside a container bazaar, intertwined with a butcher shop and a coffeehouse.

Harbiye FHC Evacuated

Stating that the disruptions in Hatay are not limited to Turunçlu alone, he mentioned that the Harbiye Family Health Center was also hastily evacuated in the middle of summer a few months ago without infrastructure preparations.

Criticizing that while there is a budget to print signs on buildings slated for demolition, the basic needs of health centers are not met, Mehlepçi criticized the distribution of ministry budgets.