‘As the number of physicians drops, Turkey calls retired physicians to duty’
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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Mersin MP Rıdvan Turan, also a medical doctor himself, has submitted a Parliamentary question regarding Turkey's recent move to employ retired physicians.
Recalling that an announcement has been made by the Health Ministry regarding the employment and placement of physicians aged 65-72, HDP's Turan has said, "As the employment of physicians has fallen short for reasons of violence, harsh working conditions and insufficient employee personal rights, retired physicians have been called to duty again".
Addressing his Parliamentary question to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, HDP MP Turan has asked, "Has your Ministry undertaken any works to arrange the social rights of retired doctors in such a way that they do not need to work anymore, instead of employing them again?"
Turan has also asked a question about violence in healthcare: "What works has your Ministry undertaken to ensure that violence against working physicians is prevented, long shifts are reduced, harsh working conditions are improved and employee personal rights are granted?"
Applications open for placement
According to an announcement published in the Official Gazette yesterday (March 8), the retired physicians who want to return to working life may apply via the e-State by using the Personnel Info System on the website of the Health Ministry's Directorate General for Administrative Affairs.
What do studies say?
The İzmir Medical Chamber has recently shared the results of a survey carried out with the participation of retired physicians.
Addressing the reporters in a press conference at the medical chamber on March 3, İzmir Medical Chamber Chair Lütfi Çamlı said that the online survey was participated by 1,349 retired physicians.
Çamlı noted that heavy workload, dissatisfaction with work, mobbing and incompetent executives were the leading factors urging the physicians to retire and shared the following survey results:
"Three out of every four physicians continue working after retirement; 16.6 percent of them do more than one job. 93.1 percent of the physicians who retired from private medical institutions, 89.1 percent of the ones who retired as workplace physicians and 81 percent of the ones who retired from doctor's offices continue working after retirement.
"99.4 percent of retired physicians earn less than 13 thousand lira and 18 percent of them earn less than 5 thousand lira.
"One third of the surveyed physicians say that they do not regret having chosen the profession. 21.7 percent say that they would not have preferred it if they had thought like they do now and 28.1 percent say that they would prefer to practice their profession in another country.
"When they were asked about their problems, 59 percent of retired physicians said that they had 'concerns about the future', 48.3 percent said that they are having 'economic hardships' and 41.2 percent said that 'their social relations have declined/ social circle has narrowed'.
"In response to a question on problems pertaining to the profession, they expressed 'attacks on the profession' (70.9 percent), 'policies of transformation in healthcare and commercialization of healthcare' (80.6 percent) and 'the profession being brought into disrepute' (85.8 percent)." (RT/SD)