According to Bakkalci, AKP's action plan is just a "more mature version," of the economic policies pursued by Turkey for the last 20 years.
Dr. Necdet Tamamogullari, head of the Mersin Chamber of Physicians, spoke at the meeting of the Union of Chamber of Physicians in Southern Provinces (GITOB). Tamamogullari stressed that the health care system in Turkey is mismanaged, and said that the measures set out by AKP in its action plan would not be easy to implement.
Physicians discuss problems
Chamber of Physicians of the provinces of Adana, Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, and Sanliurfa, attended the GITOB meeting held at the Mersin Chamber of Physicians Club
At the meeting, the physicians talked about, "the brevity rights of physicians,"
"The war which will start as the United States America (U.S.) commences it military operation in Iraq," "the preparations towards TTB's 52nd grand congress," "the outcome of the November 3 general elections," and "health service at times of war."
3,000 U.S.D in the West, only 18 U.S.D in Turkey
Dr. Tamamogullari commented on AKP's action plan, and its health policies. "The plan refers to the privatization of health services, and creating a general health insurance (GSS)," said Tamamogullari. He then went on to explain the difficulties of bringing these to life:
"It is nearly impossible to create a GSS. The 57th government had tried to negotiate this issue with the insurance companies. The companies quit negotiations when the government offered to pay 18 U.S.D (about 25 million Turkish lira) per person. In the west, 3,000 U.S.D (about 4.5 billion Turkish lira) is allocated for health expenses per person," he said.
"Despite all the negations, the amount in Turkey is 150 U.S.D (about 240 million Turkish lira). Where are they going to find this money from, and spend it on GSS?"
Tamamogullari: Difficult to bring to life
Tamamogullari reminded the high percentage of infant deaths in Turkey, and stressed that the health care system in Turkey is mismanaged:
"According to the World Health Organization, infant deaths result from 'mismanagement.' About 40 babies out of a thousand die in the province of Mersin. This rate is too high compared with the European countries and neighboring countries, except Iraq. About 300 babies out of a thousand die in Iraq because developed countries like England do not vaccinate Iraqi babies. Their excuse is that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will use chemical or biological weapons."
Bakkalci: They are following Dervis' footsteps
Dr. Metin Bakkalci, deputy chair of the central committee of TTB criticized the fact that the humane dimension of Turkey's economic crisis is being ignored. Bakkalci said:
"The recent past was a period of the greatest destruction in Turkey's history. Our economy shrank to its lowest levels since the 2nd World War. Everyone talks about numbers, but nobody mentions the humane dimension of the destruction we lived through."
"AKP's urgent action plan, announced by the party's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, foresees a strong economy and a strong economy ministry. They are following the footsteps of former Economy Minister Kemal Dervis. Mister Erdogan seems to have forgotten the "humane warmth in management and in making decisions" approach he was talking about before the elections."
According to Bakkalci, AKP's action plan is a continuation of the economy program Turkey has been pursuing for the last 20 years, and which resulted in a devastating economic crisis.
"This is why this plan is far from solving problems and taking a humane approach," he said.
Bakkalci stressed that they will carry on negotiations with AKP. "Negotiating means spending effort. We will try to do everything we can, to solve the problems in health care through careful negotiations," said Bakkalci. (BB/NK/EA/NM)
