KISA DALGA (SHORTWAVE) PODCAST

Health Workers Speak Out: ‘We Don’t Want to Die While Keeping Alive’

Nazan Özcan spoke to health workers for Kısa Dalga (Shortwave) podcast. They told Özcan, “I feel like being thrown to the front line in a war”, “We all feel apprehension, we are mentally devastated before the number of cases has not yet exploded.”

İstanbul

Health Workers Speak Out: ‘We Don’t Want to Die While Keeping Alive’

Click to read the article in Turkish

Nazan Özcan has spoken to cleaning workers, nurses, medical doctors and unionists for Kısa Dalga (Shortwave) podcast amid novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, which has so far claimed 131 lives in Turkey.

Health workers have shared their problems and concerns in the podcast of "Health Workers Speak Out: I Don't Want to Die While Keeping Alive", as part of "Coronavirus Diary" series prepared by Özcan.

CLICK - Coronavirus Map: Live Updates on the Pandemic

They have told Özcan briefly the following:

What we need is protective equipment, not applause.
We are given a three ply face mask, which does not protect us from the infectious disease. There are no bones, masks or gowns. Even a proper cleaning is not done.
There are absolutely no hand sanitizers. We wash our hands only with soap. Who knows how much it will protect...
We all feel apprehension. We are mentally devastated before the number of cases has not yet exploded.
Health workers' protection of their own health is important for the following reason: When the number of patients increases, 30-40 percent of health workers get infected, too.

'We are sure that we will contract the virus'

When the epidemic broke out, the Ministry [of Health] should have done planning. As far as we could see, they did not do these plans or the plans have gone wrong.
We are sure that we will contract the coronavirus. In fact, considering our working conditions, it is impossible to think that we will not get infected. You will frequently hear that primary care physicians have contracted it.
Neither patients nor the Ministry [of Health] knows what we do. I do not know that, either. It is not clear what we will do. It is like no algorithms are working.

'We cry out loud, but no one seems to care'

We try to isolate the patients. We do not have the chance to use scanning tests. There is a question mark in my mind.
"We don't want to die while keeping alive," we are crying out loud, but no one seems to care.
I feel like being thrown to the front line in a war, I feel like the ones who have nothing.
Now, we know that almost 20 of our friends have been infected in different hospitals. Some of them have been quarantined.

'Majority of Health Workers Say They Cannot Access Masks and Gloves'

On March 24, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) shared a preliminary report on a self-report-based online survey that it conducted with 1,820 health workers from 74 of 81 provinces in Turkey. The survey manifested that health workers were still having difficulties in accessing personal protective equipments and materials while treating suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases.

That is, while 78 percent of the participants said that they had difficulties in accessing N5 masks, 74 percent said that they had difficulty in accessing face shields or glasses, 60 percent medical masks and 38 percent said that they had difficulties in accessing gloves.

The conclusion part of the survey has underlined that the preliminary findings of the survey have indicated a serious shortage and problems in terms of health workers' personal protective equipments and working conditions. It has been further emphasized that these conditions pose a risk in terms of occupational illnesses and homicides while they are also causing anxiety and fear in healthcare workers.

About the novel coronavirus

What is a coronavirus?

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease Covid-19.

What is Covid-19?

Covid-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

How does Covid-19 spread?

People can catch Covid-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with Covid-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch Covid-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Studies to date suggest that the virus is mainly transmitted through contact with respiratory droplets rather than through the air.

Source: World Health Organization

(AÖ/SD)