Minister Koca's controversial gesture toward doctors: He made a money-counting motion

Minister of Health Koca responded to questions and criticisms from members of parliament during the negotiations regarding his ministry's 2024 budget at the TBMM Planning and Budget Committee.

During his speech, Minister Koca also touched upon the number of physicians working in public and private hospitals, stating the following:

“After the White Reform, the number of specialist physicians increased from 48,858 to 55,923, meaning there was an increase of 7,065 in the number of specialists alone, and there was a return to the public sector. In the private sector, the number decreased from 31,622 to 30,510, a decrease of 1,112. So, the private sector did not increase; the White Reform accelerated the return from the private sector to the public sector.”

“IT IS OBSERVED THAT 401 PHYSICIANS WENT ABROAD IN 2023”

Noting that the number of people working abroad in 2022 was only 450, Koca said, “In 2023, it is observed that 401 out of 1,321 people went abroad. Of these 401, 250 are general practitioners and residents, and 149 are specialist physicians. Therefore, we see that 1/3 of those going abroad are specialists and 2/3 are general practitioners.

Physicians mostly go to Qatar, Kuwait, and Dubai, and then to Germany. We cannot pay 30, 40, 50 thousand dollars; it is not because of us. They also go for educational purposes. We have 205 thousand physicians. How many are leaving? Let it be 401, 450, 500, 600. That is 1.9 per thousand, let it be 2, 2.5, 3, or 4,” he said.

Referring to OECD data, Koca stated, “5 percent of Germany's physicians, meaning 18,800, and 8.6 percent of England's, meaning 18,314 physicians, are abroad. Can we be compared to this? I am saying how minimal the reflection of the post-pandemic situation in the world is in our country.”

MONEY-COUNTING GESTURE DREW CRITICISM

Although Minister of Health Koca stated in his official remarks that the doctors' departures were for 'educational purposes' and that the figures in question did not reflect the truth, he implied with the money-counting gesture he made while saying "It is not because of us" that doctors are leaving Turkey for abroad solely for financial reasons.