Too many patients, not enough doctors in Turkey

The Turkish Healthcare Workers' Union (Türk Sağlık-Sen) issued a report mapping physician density throughout Turkey by region and province on the occasion of Medicine Day, which is celebrated on March 14 every year in Turkey. The study revealed that there are nearly 118,000 doctors in the country, 68,952 of whom are working at institutions run by the Ministry of Health and 26,258 of whom work at university hospitals. The remaining 23,000 are employed at private hospitals.

The report further revealed that 5,353 doctors resigned from the Ministry of Health in 2011, while this number was 3,637 in 2010. Speaking to Today's Zaman, Türk Sağlık-Sen President Önder Kahveci said doctors are overworked in Turkey and that the number of patients for each doctor is very high, putting an excessive workload on doctors. Kahveci added that this overwhelming workload decreases doctors' productivity.

Addressing other problems faced by doctors in Turkey on the occasion of Medicine Day, which is dedicated to healthcare workers, Kahveci stated that Turkey enacted two major new healthcare regulations in 2011 that upset many doctors. One of these was the Full Day Law, which went into effect in October. This law requires doctors who are also professors of medicine to work a full day at state and university hospitals, effectively prohibiting them from working in privately owned clinics. The other new regulation allows foreign doctors and nurses to work in Turkish hospitals.

About the issue of recruiting foreign doctors to work in Turkish hospitals, Kahveci said: “Yes, there is a shortage of doctors in Turkey. The proportion of patients to doctors is below the averages of other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] countries, but this problem cannot be resolved by recruiting foreign doctors. Turkey should use its own human resources. Such regulations negatively affect the motivation and performance of Turkish doctors.”

Recalling Turkey's recent first ever full-face transplant, carried out at Akdeniz University, Kahveci noted that Turkish doctors had proven that they can succeed when they are given the opportunity, so the state should encourage doctors and provide the appropriate working conditions for them.

Speaking to Today's Zaman, Health and Social Services Employee's Union (Sağlık-Sen) Chairman Metin Memiş also agreed, saying that Turkey should train its own doctors instead of recruiting foreign doctors. He said training local doctors will be a more effective and permanent solution for resolving Turkey's need for doctors.

“However, if it is indispensable to employ foreign doctors, they should undergo compulsory orientation programs to more easily adapt to Turkish culture and language. Otherwise, this practice would bring further problems to the Turkish healthcare system,” said Chairman Memiş.

Doctors face violence

Memiş added that one of the biggest problems faced by Turkish doctors is aggression and violence from their patients and relatives. “The rate of violent incidents targeted at healthcare professionals is 16 times higher than the rate for other professions in Turkey. Doctors and other healthcare providers are subject to violent incidents across Turkey almost every day. Ninety percent of doctors in Turkey have been the target of verbal or physical violence during their professional lives. But this issue is neglected in Turkey and there is no legislation to protect healthcare providers from violence,” said Memiş.

He noted that doctors are trying to offer the best service possible and request that the Ministry of Health takes precautions to protect doctors from any verbal and physical attacks.