'City hospitals continue to swallow Health Ministry budget like a black hole'

Photo: Evrensel

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) organized a press conference today (November 11) ahead of discussion of the 2023 budget of the Ministry of Health in the Parliament. Adalet Çıbık, member of Central Committee of TTB spoke to the press.

Çıbık said, "The 2023 budget proposal for the Ministry of Health sets forth that 22.9 percent of the total budget for "treatment services" will be paid as rent and as service fee to the bosses of the city hospitals. If we leave aside the amount allocated for the wages and social security premiums of health personnel, the amount to be paid to the city hospital bosses corresponds to 59 percent of the total budget for treatment services. This is a choice we do not accept."

The health budget consists of two parts, one for preventive health services and other for therapeutic health services. Çıbık said, in the name of TTB "we cannot accept this budget."

The association critisized that only 28.7 percent of the budget is allocated for preventive health services, while 69.6 percent for treatment services. TTB did not give approval to the total health budget either.

Noting that the share of the budget of Ministry of Health within the general budget was 6,63 percent for 2022 and is set as 6,56 percent for 2023 Çıbık said, "The budget of the Ministry of Health should not be less than 675 billion lira and its share in the general budget should not be less than 15 percent." (PE/VK)