BDP deputy attacks doctor as violence against medics continues

In a written statement, the deputy head doctor of the hospital, Vural Polat, said Üçer had violently beaten Eroğlu. Shortly after the incident, Health Minister Recep Akdağ delivered a statement to the press in which he said: “The BDP deputy has beaten and threatened a doctor and even refuses to apologize for his actions. The doctor has filed a complaint against the deputy.”

Paramedic teams targeted in two attacks in İstanbul

Emergency care personnel were targeted in two separate attacks in İstanbul on Friday. In İstanbul's Beyoğlu district a group ambushed an ambulance after it arrived to attend to a man who had been shot. The group attacked the ambulance and hospital staff, claiming they had arrived late.

The driver, a doctor and a paramedic locked themselves inside the vehicle in order to avoid a confrontation. However, they were slightly injured when the vehicle's front window was smashed in by the crowd. The ambulance escaped the scene, driving to a nearby hospital. The three later filed a complaint against the group at Kasımpaşa Police Station.

Another paramedic team who responded to an emergency in İstanbul's Küçükçekmece district also lodged a complaint against a patient's family when they were attacked for allegedly arriving late. The emergency responders, who asked to remain anonymous, said the injured man's relatives shouted at them, saying they would kill them if the man died.

Healthcare staff staged nationwide protests on Thursday after 26-year-old Ersin Arslan was killed when a 17-year-old boy whose grandfather he had operated on attacked him in his office. Meanwhile, Health Minister Recep Akdağ has said a hospital in Gaziantep will be named after the deceased doctor. The minister's statement came during his visit to the Arslan family in Gaziantep on Thursday.