Physicians Meet Mayor İmamoğlu, Offer 14 Recommendations for İstanbul

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Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and İstanbul Medical Chamber (İTO) Executive Board members visited İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu today (September 16).

In the meeting that took place in Tunuslu Hayrettin Paşa Mansion in İstanbul, physicians expressed their opinions about the health problems in İstanbul as well as their recommendations about what steps to take to resolve them.Both the TTB and İTO underlined the importance of a cooperation in the field of health and the formation of a common ground where the related professional organizations provide systematic contributions.

They also expressed their readiness to continue fulfilling their duties of criticism and warning for the protection and improvement of public health and to contribute to develop solutions for the problems in public health.

As for Metropolitan Mayor of İstanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu, he indicated that they, as the Municipality, would introduce desks where they could work with people from different segments of society, adding that one of these desks would consist of professional organizations.

He also stated that the Vice Secretary General of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality responsible for health affairs would be in direct contact with the executives of İstanbul Medical Chamber (İTO).

Accordingly, the TTB-İTO delegation offered recommendations of İmamoğlu in the following 14 issues:

• What needs to be done to ensure that no occupational homicides will occur and safe working conditions are provided in İstanbul
• The use of billboards and the like as well as other means of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality to raise public awareness for prevention violence against health workers
• What needs to be done to ensure people's access to their rights to use clean water, a clean environment and clean air
• What has to be done to create a city where we can move more, the number of sports areas and bike roads is higher and the individual vehicle use is lower
• The works to be undertaken for access to healthy and affordable food and inspection of food
• Preparations for natural incidents such as earthquakes and floods
• Medical services for old and disabled citizens as well as the irrecoverably ill
• The works to be undertaken to make primary care health services more effective
• The condition of the long-established university hospitals that have been moved, divided and attempted to be destroyed
• Problems experienced while moving some university hospitals
• The issue of city hospitals that is a step of privatization in health and will lead to the closure of long-established hospitals in the city center
• The steps to be taken to render housing plans more sound and humane
• The works to be undertaken to prevent the negative impacts of anti-vaccination and alternative medicine practices on public health
• What needs to be done to protect and improve animal rights. (RT/SD)

* Photograph: İstanbul Medical Chamber