By ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
On Sunday, we were shocked by the news we received: “A baby whose formula feed was mixed with alcohol died; six babies were put on a respirator.” At first I could not believe it, but as the news spread in the press, I tried to reach journalists who could not possibly report false news. I tried to find reliable information, hoping that it was not true.
Within hours, similar news started to flow from every channel. So, who were the silent ones? Political leaders and administrators who should have provided information. Isn’t it strange? While the screams of the families echo in the skies, there is nothing on that front. We are talking about babies, all the size of a hand.
While the families of the babies should have been the ones to receive first-hand information, they learn about what is going on from the press. Imagine, you learn in the news bulletins that your child has died, or that his/her health condition has deteriorated. Are we to blame the press in this case? No, of course not. If this situation was realised before the passing of the baby (we understand this from subsequent statements), why was the family not informed at an earlier time? The statement made by the Minister of Health is a total fiasco! Why? Because he says “the Police Force did not find it appropriate.”
As a lawyer, I know very well that the investigation must be conducted meticulously and that care must be taken to prevent interference with witnesses and evidence. However, this does not apply to families and relatives of patients. Patients and their relatives have the right to request and receive information about the patient’s health condition, the medical procedures to be applied, the benefits and drawbacks of these procedures, alternative methods and the course of the illness. This is a human right.
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Yesterday evening, Emine Yüksel from Bugün Kıbrıs newspaper and I went to the Emergency Hospital. We had the opportunity to interview the families there, although briefly. Despite all their pain and anxiety, people remain rational. They do not say a single word about the doctors and nurses who have been meticulously caring for their babies for days. The families of surviving babies want their children to recover first, and then those responsible, especially the Minister of Health, to be held accountable. They have filed a complaint with the police in this regard.
In the light of past experiences, there are many people who believe that an investigation will be carried out only for the five nurses who are currently under arrest. However, the issue is much more than that; it is a systemic problem.
When there is insufficient supervision and investment in public health care, when policies to prevent negligence are not put in place, the consequences are inevitable. The Constitution places responsibility for health care on the state, and stipulates that the state has a duty to protect the physical and mental health of, and offer medical care for everyone.
But what is the state of public health in practice? Is the Emergency Hospital a legal hospital? According to which laws was it established? Is the electricity system legal, or illegal? Does it have a place in health legislation? How should the responsibility of those working in a hospital that has no place in the legislation be assessed? What are the working conditions of health workers in state hospitals? Are there enough health workers to cope with the ‘ever growing’ population? How is meritocracy ensured in health care employment?
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In recent years, the rulers of the country have not given due importance to public services and have very deliberately collapsed the health system. I do not need to explain the situation in the education system; the collapse in the field of health hit us like a slap in the face with the death of a baby.
It is rumoured that an investigation has been launched. For whom? For the nurses on shift. Mixing water with alcohol is not a mistake; it is gross negligence. Those who are proven guilty should be punished severely.
What about those who are in charge of health? In developed countries where infant mortality rates are almost non-existent, if one baby had died in this way and six babies had been exposed to this malpractice, what would have been the fate of politicians in charge?
Resignation, of course. But it is not possible in geographies like ours. We have an outdated government, let alone a developing one.
Keeping silent today means normalizing the arbitrariness that endangers human life. Let’s not keep silent. If we do not keep silent, all those responsible will have to be held accountable and they will not dare to inflict the same pain again.
Source: ARBITRARINESS IN HEALTH ADMINISTRATION PAINFULLY EXPOSED
