SAHİM-SEN: Hiring of 38 thousand personnel is important but not enough

While the recruitment of 38 thousand non-physician personnel announced by the Ministry of Health has resonated in the health sector, SAHİM-SEN General President Özlem Akarken emphasized that employment alone will not be enough and stated that the distribution must be made according to real needs in the field.

The recruitment of 38 thousand non-physician personnel planned by the Ministry of Health to be carried out by the end of 2026 has brought the shortage of personnel in hospitals and the heavy workload of healthcare workers back to the agenda. It has not yet been clarified which provinces and branches the recruitments covering nurses, midwives, health technicians, and other professional groups will be distributed to.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2025 health indicators, while an average of 9.2 nurses fall per thousand people in OECD countries, this number remains at the level of 2.9 in Turkey. Similarly, while an average of 3.9 physicians fall per thousand people in the OECD average, this rate hovers at 2.4 in Turkey.

SAHİM-SEN General President Özlem Akarken expressed that the announced quota of 38 thousand people is an important step, but it alone cannot be sufficient to close the existing manpower deficit. Akarken stated that to which hospitals and in line with which needs the personnel will be placed carries critical importance.

Stating that the staff shortage affects patient safety and service quality as well as employees, Akarken noted that emergency services, intensive care units, operating rooms, laboratories, and radiology units in particular should be evaluated as a priority. In addition, a call for regulations regarding the personal rights of pathology workers and the shift fees of blood transfusion centers was made.