Healthcare unions and professional organizations and opposition party members gathered outside the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate yesterday to protest the so-called “Newborn Gang,” an alleged criminal network in the healthcare sector linked to the deaths of at least 12 infants.
According to an indictment filed on Oct 16, the gang, composed of doctors and emergency call center workers, exploited newborns with health problems to generate illegal profits. The group allegedly referred newborns to private hospitals where they had connections, which administered unnecessary treatments to charge the families and the Social Security Institution (SGK) resulting in significant financial gains. In some cases, the hospitals lacked the resources to provide adequate care, which led to the death of babies.
In protest of this scheme, the organizations released a joint statement, condemning the lack of oversight and the broader systemic issues they believe contributed to the crimes.
The protest was organized by th
e Istanbul Medical Chamber (ITO), the Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK), the Revolutionary Health Workers’ Union (Dev Saglik Is), and the Health and Social Service Workers’ Union (SES).
Head of the Istanbul Medical Chamber, Prof. Osman Kçkosmanoglu, said that the gang members who threatened prosecutors should face severe punishment, but also pointed out that the problem extends beyond individual accountability. “This is a systemic issue. The real culprits are the Health Directorate, the Health Ministry, the government, and the palace [the president],” he said.
‘Patients as customers’
KESK Co-Chair Ayfer Koçak remarked, “Unregulated power, unregulated privatization, and unchecked crony capitalism have led us to this point.”
Nursel Ycesoy, Secretary for Women’s Affairs at SES, said, “When patients are seen as customers, this is where it leads.
Erdogan Demir, general secretary of the Dev Saglik Is union, called for the immediate resignation of those responsible and urged the nationalization of
private hospitals. “Our urgent demand is for the resignation of the Health Minister and all others accountable. All private hospitals should be nationalized without delay.’
Demands for reform
Following the health unions’ protest, representatives from 20 separate unions and experts under the ‘Give Me My Right’ campaign also made a public statement.
The group, holding banners that read, ‘Nationalize Private Hospitals! Give us free healthcare!’ outlined their demands:
‘All private hospitals must be nationalized. Everyone responsible for negligence must be held accountable. Former Health Minister Fahrettin Koca should face trial. The political connections of the suspects must be uncovered.”
CHP joins protestsLater in the day, members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) gathered outside the Provincial Health Directorate to protest.
Zeliha Aksaz Sahbaz, CHP’s Deputy Chair responsible for health affairs, held Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responsible for
the infant deaths.
“President Erdogan must resign. He is responsible for this massacre. He is accountable for the deaths of babies, women, and workers,” Sahbaz said. (AD/VK)
Source: English Bianet
