‘Covid-19 Research without Health Directorate’s Permission Banned in İstanbul Hospitals’

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İstanbul Medical Chamber has released its report on the developments in medical institutions in İstanbul from April to 13 to 19 amid Covid-19 outbreak. The report has noted that serious problems prevailed in İstanbul's medical institutions in the sixth week of the pandemic.

Underlining that physicians and healthcare personnel bear the brunt of wrong policies and organizational problems, the report has listed the following information and observations from health workers:

* It was seen that the number of people who went out on the streets of İstanbul increased on the day after the two-day curfew on April 11-12 and after Minister of Health Dr. Fahrettin Koca made a statement on April 14 and announced that they had taken the infection rate under control.

* While the number of people hospitalized decreased due to the change in algorithm, the number of patients hospitalized/discharged in İstanbul has surpassed 10,000. In comparison with the utter chaos in the first weeks of the outbreak, hospitals are now better organized thanks to the great efforts of physicians and health workers; however, there are still serious problems.

* With the passing of retired faculty member Prof. Dr. Sedat Tellaloğlu from Urology Department of İstanbul Medical Faculty and family physician Dr. Yavuz Kalaycı from Nişanca Family Health Center in the past week, the number of our colleagues who have lost their lives in İstanbul since the onset of the outbreak has increased to nine.

* While the shortage of protective equipments such as masks, gowns and gloves has dropped in comparison with the first weeks, this shortage still continues. Healthcare personnel are now working in shifts in several hospitals; however, in some hospitals, especially assistants are made to work for 36 hours without a break.

* The tests and tracing works are not regularly or adequately conducted on physicians and healthcare workers, who are at the front line of the struggle against the pandemic; the number of healthcare workers infected in İstanbul so far is almost 2,000.

* There is still an increase in the number of infected health workers among the District Health Directorate teams carrying out tracing works against the pandemic in the field and Family Health Center workers who continue their routine activities.

* The problems with non-Covid-10 patients' needs for irrecusable healthcare services are gradually growing. These patients are having difficulties in finding a medical institution to receive healthcare services.

* Though people have been obliged to wear masks in crowded public places, the sale of masks has been banned and it has been announced that masks will be obtained from pharmacies, masks cannot be distributed adequately or regularly and citizens suffer from this.

* The coding system suggested by the World Health Organization is not followed; the patients who show the symptoms and are accepted and treated as Covid-19 patients, but whose PCR tests are not positive are not mentioned in Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca's statements.

* In an official letter dated April 13, the İstanbul Provincial Directorate of Health has banned conducting scientific research on Covid-19 without getting permission from the Directorate. (EKN/SD)