‘Healthcare Providers Still Working Without Masks in Turkey’

* Photo: Pixabay

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) released the second-week results of its self-report based online survey entitled "Risk Assessment as to Health Workers' Exposure to COVID-19 Virus" today (March 31).

As the findings from the last week also showed, the findings of this week's survey joined by 1,630 healthcare providers across Turkey has revealed that the existing problems in their working conditions and shortages of personal protective equipments still continue.

While 50 percent of the participants have said that no separate triage spaces are allocated for COVID-19 in their institutions, 44 percent have indicated that no training was provided as to how to protect themselves from the virus.

44 percent of health workers have said that they were not informed about the changes in their work organization following the outbreak. 50 percent of the participants have noted that they were not provided with any training materials on special diagnosis, treatment schemes, guides, etc.

They have also indicated that the number of workers in their departments has not been increased; they have to work when they are sick, albeit seasonally; they have problems with air conditioning in their workplaces; they cannot use their right to work in a riskless environment despite being in the risk groups, such as being pregnant, chronically ill or aged; and they cannot inform the top management about these problems with ease.

The conclusion part of the report has underlined that health workers have been providing medical services under a great risk, which poses a risk in terms of occupational illnesses and homicides while they are also causing anxiety and fear in healthcare workers.

Accordingly, the TTB has called on the Ministry of Health to improve the working conditions at medical institutions and to fully provide health workers with the necessary personal protective equipments.

#RaporCovid19

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has also been sharing province-based figures on COVID-19 pandemic under the hashtag #RaporCovid19.

According to these figures, around 150 patients diagnosed with or suspected to have the COVID-19 are currently hospitalized in Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbakır. While six patients are treated in intensive care units, five people in total have lost their lives due to the virus so far.

As for the Mediterranean province of Adana, around 550 patients diagnosed with or suspected to carry the virus are currently hospitalized, with 63 of them in intensive care unit and 15 intubated. Four physicians and 12 health workers, two of whom have been discharged from hospital, are currently monitored as suspected coronavirus cases.

Over 100 physicians and health workers have been infected in İstanbul so far. Over 200 patients are currently in intensive care units in the city.

You can follow the information shared by the TTB under the hashtag #RaporCovid19 here (in Turkish).

(AS/SD)