Heavily injured lawyer made to travel 300 kilometers from hospital to hospital

Click to read the article in Turkish

Lawyer Erdal Safalı, who was critically injured in the accident that claimed the lives of three members of Peace Mothers/People yesterday, was transported from one hospital to another, covering a distance of 300 kilometers.

Ergun Canan, President of the Hakkari Bar Association, expressed his dismay in response to this situation, questioning why such delays occurred when every minute was crucial. 

Peace Mothers/People members Adalet Safalı, Perişan Akçelik, and Akçelik's son Cihan Akçelik, who were traveling from Hakkari to Yüksekova after providing statements to the Hakkari Prosecutor's Office, were involved in a traffic accident yesterday afternoon. Adalet Safalı, Perişan Akçelik, and Cihan Akçelik lost their lives in the accident, while lawyer Erdal Safalı sustained severe injuries.

The accident occurred near the Şakitan (Suüstü) Bridge on the Hakkari-Yüksekova highway. Lawyer Erdal Safalı suffered multiple severe fractures and a brain hemorrhage as a result of the accident.

Severely injured lawyer transported for 300 km

Severely injured lawyer Erdal Safalı was initially taken by ambulance to Yüksekova State Hospital, which is approximately 10 kilometers away. After a few hours, he was transferred to Hakkari State Hospital, which is about 78 kilometers away, and admitted to the intensive care unit.

Following treatment at Hakkari State Hospital, which lasted a few hours, Safalı was transferred to Van Region Training and Research Hospital, which is approximately 210 kilometers away, during the night.

Thus, the critically injured lawyer was transported for approximately 300 kilometers within a few hours.

Shortage of doctors: No neurosurgeon

Ergun Canan, President of the Hakkari Bar Association, mentioned that due to a "shortage of doctors" at Yüksekova State Hospital where Safalı was initially taken from the accident scene, he was transferred to Hakkari. Canan stated to bianet: "There is no neurosurgeon in Yüksekova. We requested that he be airlifted to Van due to the need for swift action. However, the doctors deemed Hakkari suitable."

Another transfer: Inadequate equipment in Hakkari

Canan stated that Safalı's CT scan was taken in Hakkari and said, "They didn't intervene here. They transported him from one hospital to another within a few hours. Since Hakkari lacks sufficient equipment, he was transferred to Van. Why wasn't our initial request for a transfer to Van accepted? Why was he delayed and transported around so much? We had to wait for approval from the hospital in Van for about an hour. However, every minute is crucial. There is negligence here."

"Heart attack patients are dying on the road"

Canan, President of the Bar Association, mentioned that Safalı underwent surgery at the hospital in Van and stated, "Why isn't anything being done in Hakkari? In Şemdinli and Yüksekova, heart attack patients are transferred to Hakkari because there is no angiography unit. People are dying before reaching Hakkari. I don't know how to express this problem, this agony. Should we march? There is a hospital, but no doctors, no equipment."

"Another disgrace: roads"

Canan reminded that there are issues not only with the healthcare infrastructure but also with the roads in Hakkari. He stated, "The roads are another disgrace. Every year, many people lose their lives on the Hakkari-Yüksekova highway. Despite being an international road, the stretch between Yüksekova and Yeniköprü, which is around 20-30 kilometers, still hasn't been widened. Two vehicles can barely pass each other. Why aren't roads being constructed here when roads are being built all over Turkey?" He called on authorities to take action.

(NT/PE)