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Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca has faced criticism after saying on Twitter that "Let's be proud of our physicians and healthcare system," when commenting on a Sky News report on Turkey's Covid-19 contact tracing teams.
Shortly after his tweet, a hashtag requesting him to apologize (#özürdilebakankoca) was seen in the trending topics in Turkey.
The minister then posted another tweet, saying, "Dear nurses, is it true that you have launched a campaign for me to apologize?"
In response to the minster, the Turkish Nurses Association released a written statement today, saying that "We would like to mention what is absolutely true."
The statement briefly said the following:
"It is true that healthcare is teamwork but the Ministry of Health referred to as the 'Ministry of Physicians' at hospitals, family health centers and other health institutions.
"It is true that we, as the representative of nearly 200,000 colleagues, have requested an appointment from you since the day you assumed office but are still not able to get an appointment.
"It is true that our calls from cooperation to our Ministry have remained unanswered.
"It is through that our efforts to be included in the pandemic science boards remained inconclusive despite our scientific and professional experience and the fact that we are practitioners of most of the interventions in the system.
"It is true that our name is not mentioned apart from the nurses day, although we support the health system during the pandemic process.
"It is true that we are crushed in our workplaces under pressure from the administrations and unions." (AÖ/VK)
