Patients are forced to travel 150 kilometers: Patients' right to life is at risk

The General Health-Work Union ( GHS) announced that the three Emergency Health Services Stations (ASHİ) in Ceylanpinar, Şanlıurfa, are inadequate to serve both Ceylanpinar's population of over one hundred thousand and the additional population arriving from Ras al-Ayn, Syria, due to their current staffing and physical conditions. The union announced that the healthcare workers' request for a new ASHİ was rejected by the management, stating, "The population is insufficient to open a new ASHİ." The union stated that even Ceylanpinar's population alone necessitates the opening of a new ASHİ.

The union stated that patients at Ceylanpınar State Hospital are forced to be transported to Şanlıurfa, 150 km away, due to the lack of MRI devices, insufficient staff and poor physical conditions. The union also announced that these transports are carried out with ambulances that frequently break down, putting the patients' right to life at serious risk.

The union, which announced that critical violations were taking place regarding the transport of newborn babies, said, "These transports, which should legally and medically be carried out only with neonatal ambulances, are now being carried out with emergency ambulances, using extremely dangerous and unlawful practices that force healthcare workers to hold babies in their arms. This situation is a grave violation of both the right to life guaranteed in Article 17 of the Constitution and the obligation to provide healthcare services in accordance with safe and scientific principles."

"RESPONSIBILITIES MUST BE FULFILLED"

Dr. Derya Uğur, President of the General Health Workers' Union (GYO), emphasized that these violations undermine the public's right to access healthcare and healthcare workers' obligation to provide safe, qualified, and legally compliant services. Uğur stated, "Relevant institutions and authorities must urgently fulfill their responsibilities regarding the opening of the new ASHİ hospital, the allocation of newborn transport ambulances, the maintenance and repair of ambulances, and the addressing of the hospital's physical and personnel shortages. GYO will be monitoring these rights violations and will continue to stand with the public and healthcare workers."