BATMAN - There are no beds left in intensive care units of hospitals in Batman where 350 new cases are diagnosed per day. 40 thousand people are being monitored by teams for contact tracing. SES Branch Co-chair Deniz Topkan said that 7 people lost their lives while waiting for a bed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

 

The health system in Batman has collapsed in Batman with the normalization process started on June 1. 350 new cases are diagnosed a day in the city where no sufficient measures are taken. Half of the tests done on people turns our positive. 40 thousand people are being monitored by teams for contact tracing.

 

Batman Regional State Hospital, which serves as a pandemic hospital due to the increasing number of cases in the city, announced that there are no more available beds at the hospital. Those contracted the virus face with difficulties accessing healthcare service.

 

THE STORY OF A CITIZEN

 

Hazal Açıkalın (47), who tested positive on August 8, had to return home by public transport because there was no room in the hospital. Açıkalın, who was in quarantine, applied to the closest family physician when she got worse yesterday. The family phsycian referred her to the hospital. Her family decided to get her to a private hospital considering that the state hospitals are at full capacity. But the private hospital refused to send an ambulance. Then her husband called 112 (Emergency Service), but the team arriving the scene insisted that they can only take her to District State Hospital. Açıkalın said: "My wife was in the ambulance. They were arguing with us so I started recording. I told them I will release the video to the press if they did not take my wife to the hospital. They threatened us with calling the police first but then they took us to the hospital. They are forcing us to go to the state hospital which we know that won't accept us because there are no beds available."

 

Telling that the healthcare system has collapsed in Batman, Açıkalın said: "We had to go back home with our own means. They force people with Covid-19 to use the public transportation if they don't have any money."

 

Evaluating the increase in the number of cases in the city, Health and Social Services Workers Union (SES) Batman Branch Co-chair Deniz Topkan also claimed that 7 people died while waiting for a bed in the ICU.  Saying that people started to express their reactions in front of the hospital due to the increasing cases, Topkan called on the authorities to take the right measures. Topkan said: "If the health care workers are not enough to control the situation despite their endless efforts, then the authorities must take efficient measures. People have lost their trust in the healthcare system in Batman. Therefore, they prefer going to other private hospitals."

 

MA / Metin Yoksu