The report shows that the ratio between the number of doctors and the number of people in southeastern Anatolia is 1 to 7,602, and 1 to 5,309 in eastern Anatolia. The national average is 1 to 2,141
According to the report, because of the poor state of health services people in the region prefer to go to Iran for treatment
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Mert Gozde
Ankara - Turkish Daily News

Eastern and southeastern Anatolia were revealed to be the least developed regions of Turkey in terms of benefiting from health services, a research on Turkey's health system showed.

According to "The situation in eastern and southeastern Anatolia in the light of socio-economic indicatives" report prepared by True Path Party (DYP) Van Deputy Huseyin Celik, one doctor in southeastern Anatolia is responsible for providing health services for some 7,602 people and for 5,309 people in eastern Anatolia.

Drawing attention to the fact that the national average is 2,141 people to one doctor, Celik says that the number of doctors, measured against the population of eastern and southeastern Anatolia, is some three or four times below the national average.

The report, which is based on data provided by the State Statistics Institute (DIE), the State Planning Organization (DPT), the World Bank and UNICEF, reveals that the discrepancy is even greater when it comes to dentists. The ratio between dentists and the public in southeastern Anatolia is 1 to 21,504. The same ratio is 1 to 17,448 in eastern Anatolia, compared to a national average of 1 to 5,453.

Celik maintains in his report that the health system is at a poor level throughout Turkey, although the situation in eastern and southeastern Anatolia is especially grave. Poor health facilities in the region, according to Celik, have a negative effect on deputies from the region. "Deputies from eastern and southeastern Anatolia are spending most of their time on their electorates' medical difficulties," he says.

Erzurum ranks first in infant mortality
The report also reveals that the eastern province of Erzurum ranks first in infant mortality, followed by Diyarbakir.

In all of Turkey, Bursa comes first in terms of the number of children who have been vaccinated with 59.3 percent. This figure is 18.6 percent in Erzurum and 23.5 in Diyarbakir.

Celik says that most of the health stations in eastern and southeastern Anatolia do not work properly, and just send patients to hospitals in the city centers. Most of these stations do not have even a practicing doctor. "There is no single hospital in the region which does not suffer from the problem of insufficient personnel. In the less developed provinces such as Hakkari and Sirnak, state hospitals are run by general practitioners. The situation is no better in the Social Security Authority (SSK) hospitals. In the Van SSK hospital, for instance, there are only eight doctors, although the number should be 40."

Health reform is essential
Noting that health reform in Turkey is essential, the report draws attention to the fact that some 22 million people do not have any health insurance and recommends that reforms should be implemented at once.

The report lists the short-term measures to be taken to improve health services in eastern and southeastern Anatolia as follows;

Instead of health stations in villages, which do not have the necessary medical personnel and equipment, new health centers equipped with medical facilities and personnel should be formed in the districts.
District hospitals which cannot function due to lack of equipment and personnel should be transformed into fully functioning health centers.
Doctors should be financially and morally encouraged to go to eastern and southeastern Anatolia. New policies to ensure that the necessary number of doctors are employed in the hospitals should be put into effect.
Doctors or other health personnel should be obliged to work in hospitals in eastern and southeastern Anatolia during their military service through an arrangement with the Ministry of Defense.
A mobile ambulance network should be formed to work in emergency situations. Particularly in areas where transport is difficult in the winter months, ambulance helicopters should be made available.
The green card system, developed as an arrangement to subsidize health services for the poor, should be overhauled.
SSK hospitals should be equipped with medical staff and personnel.
Ataturk, Inonu, Firat, Yuzuncu Yil and Harran university hospitals should be reformed and their personnel and medical equipment improved. This will decrease the flow of people to big cities such as Istanbul or Ankara for treatment.
In the recent years, a considerable number of people have been going to Iran for treatment since they find it more economical. It is not pleasant to see Turkish citizens going to Iran for treatment, although Turkey is more advanced in health technology than Iran.