Infected health workers called back to work amid Covid-19 spike in Ankara, says union

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The Health and Social Service Laborers' Union's (SES) Ankara branch has listed the problems that health workers face at city hospitals, large health complexes built in a public-private partnership, and demanded authorities to find solutions.

Ankara, Turkey's capital, has become a new center of the outbreak, to an extent that it has a shortage of hospital beds, according to professional organizations.

While the Ministry of Health denies claims of bed shortage, doctors' and health workers' organizations dispute official figures, which they say are exceeded by the number of daily cases in Ankara alone.

Amid the new surge, health workers are not being regularly tested for Covid-19 and forced to work even if they are infected, according to the union.

"Health workers who had contact [with patients] are made to work with two masks. If there are no findings on the fifth - seventh day of their report, health workers diagnosed with Covid-19 are verbally called back to work on the excuse of high workload," it said in a written statement yesterday (September 15).

Also, health workers at Ankara City Hospital are not considered as "contacts" and tested regularly, according to the union.

"Due to the insufficient number [of health workers], the workload of health workers increases. Instead of employing a sufficient number of health workers, health workers are assigned from different hospitals in the province," it said.

The union further said that health workers are not provided with shuttles and use public transport, which increases the risk of contagion.

"Companies don't give the necessary and qualified protective equipment to contracted workers. Their place of duty is changed every 15 days," it added.

"All decisions at the hospital, including assignments, are made without transparency and merit. Those who object are subjected to systematic mobbing," the union further noted.

"There is insufficient disinfestation, cleaning and disinfection because of the cost concerns such as doing more work with fewer employees and of the fact that the hospital is established in a wide area," it said. (AS/VK)