Health and Social Service Union's Warning on 'Commodified Health System'

During the 1st Primary Health Care Workshop organized by the Health and Social Service Union Gaziantep Branch, the effects of the Health Transformation Program on healthcare workers and society were discussed. Branch Co-Chair Serpil Dağdemir emphasized that managing the system with a business logic lowers the quality of healthcare services and pushes workers into insecurity.

Evaluating the workshop results, Serpil Dağdemir stated that the Health Transformation Program, implemented since the early 2000s, has commodified healthcare services. Dağdemir noted that this model prioritizes profitability and performance instead of protecting public health, which creates heavy pressure on healthcare workers.

Dağdemir listed the main problems faced by healthcare workers as insecure employment, performance pressure, arbitrary penalty points, and the threat of contract termination. She also noted that loading the current expenses of Family Health Centers onto the workers and inadequate physical conditions negatively affect the quality of service.

Evaluation: The union representative argues that primary health care services should be restructured with a public approach based on community health. In this context, demands such as permanent employment, a base salary above the poverty line, and public financing of preventive health services come to the fore.