Mr. Minister, doctors are dying!

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"Covid-19 is 'automatically' an occupational disease for health workers." (1)

This expression in quotes is paraphrased from the Minister of Health of France. It was also reported in the press at the end of April 2020. Later, health authorities of nearly 130 countries, including Italy, made similar statements, they tangibly showed that they stood with health workers, who have worked their hearts out in the period of the pandemic.

But what is the situation in our country? About the same days, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca, in front of the press, said in meaning, "Unfortunately, the number of infected health workers who work in the field is high: A total of 7,428 of our health workers caught Covid-19. In other words, 7,428 in our one million health workers. Their proportion in cases is close to 6.5 percent." And it was the end of the discussion!

Protection steps

Was it really the end of the discussion? Absolutely not! Unfortunately, it is increasing and turning to a nightmare. The World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic on March 11 and releases weekly reports. In its last report, it states that the number of patients is heading to 30 million and the number of deaths to one million (3). It is reported that health workers, who are at the forefront in daily practice and in many works, are in the riskiest situation, they become ill and lose their lives at a young age (4).

In work life, protecting from the risk of dangers is the most important step; this is called primary protection. Perhaps the most important element that tests the suitability of the primary protection is health surveillance, namely identifying the people affected by the circumstances, which is known as secondary prevention. Secondary protection is, so to speak, the controller of primary protection and the precursor of tertiary protection. Because if those who are "affected" are not identified or neglected, these become symptomatic and ill. Identifying these early (tertiary protection) and healing them with early treatment will prevent disabilities and deaths (quaternary prevention). Failure to follow each of these steps correctly and not take the necessary precautions in a timely and accurate manner leads to very serious and fatal sudden situations (work accidents), chronic (occupational) diseases that will not be covered, disabilities and deaths.

You are driving doctors to burnout

Covid-19 is the greatest danger in human history to date; the risk of encountering this is a trouble that can turn a person's life upside down. This is a pandemic. The fight against pandemics is not possible in healthcare centers provoked by profit maximization but in the field, with the political authority taking the precautionary measures applicable to the whole population in a timely, complete and correct manner. Otherwise, it is serious chaos to try to solve the problem completely with healthcare agencies. It drives the healthcare workers and the health system to burnout and destruction ...

These facts are persistently expressed by physicians, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), the specialty associations, who have been aware of the issue since the first day. Mr. Minister of Health, how many of them have you really heard and taken into account?

Why don't you publish actual data?

Did you really choose the "science board" members thinking that they were really competent to manage a pandemic? How many of the science board's statements have you actually implemented? Is the responsibility of deliberately putting the people in danger on you or on the science board? Or...

Mr. Minister, has the number of health workers infected with Covid-19 remained the same at 7,428, as you stated in the last week of April? According to a rough epidemiological projection, at least 40,000 health workers are infected with Covid-19. Why don't you publish actual data regarding health workers?

How many people have we lost?

Mr. Minister, health workers still become infected, ill, disabled without being able to breathe, invalid and die!

As of yesterday, the number of medical doctors we lost was 33. We don't know how many it is today. Do we know how many of our nurses, health/emergency/radiology/laboratory technicians are ill, how many of them have we lost in this period? Why don't you announce tangible data, facts?

Mr. Minister, how will we deal with this menace of the pandemic, which we don't know how long it will continue?

Mr. Minister, hear our voices

Mr. Minister, a disaster such as a pandemic can't be analyzed only with individual precautions like masks distancing and hygiene. Protecting public health requires a political will, otherwise it is putting the responsibility on someone else. Unfortunately, the data you show every day on the turquoise table is not in line with reality in daily life anymore. There is a problem somewhere. The uneasiness of physicians-scientists caused by not knowing everything is affecting all health workers. There is a serious pessimism among scientists and society, which is becoming increasingly severe.

Mr. Minister, doctors are dying! Doctors are resigning! Doctors are retiring early!

Mr. Minister, you left all health workers aggrieved, alone, desperate...

Mr. Minister, please say how many health workers are ill!

Knowing this will enable us to see the problems in primary protection and prevent us from becoming ill and die anymore.

Many countries in the world are at the point that "Covid-19 is automatically an occupational disease for health workers."

Hear the cry of health workers, Mr. Minister! (İA/NÖ/VK)

(1) Press (April 21)

(2) Press (April 29)

(3) WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Globally, as of 2:14pm CEST, 31 August 2020 Dashboard https://covid19.who.int/

(4) NguyenLH et all. Risk of Covid-19 among health-care workers and general community: a prospective cohort study. The Lancet Open Access Published: July 31, 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30164-X 5CDC Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Among Frontline Health Care Personnel in a Multistate Hospital Network — 13 Academic Medical Centers, April–June 2020Early Release / August 31, 2020 / 69 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6935e2.htm?s_cid=mm6935e2_w&s=09