Number of hospitals with revoked licenses rises in the 'newborn scandal' gripping Turkey

The licenses of 10 hospitals mentioned in the indictment regarding gang members who collaborated with certain individuals working at the 112 Emergency Call Center to refer newborn emergency patients to pre-arranged private hospital neonatal units for illicit gain—leading to the deaths of some infants—have been revoked following public backlash.

In the investigation into the "newborn gang," which was initiated by the Büyükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on May 21, 2023, and concluded on October 16, the licenses of 9 of the healthcare institutions mentioned in the indictment were revoked. Meanwhile, the license of the Private Reyap Hospital in the Çorlu district of Tekirdağ was also revoked, and its operations were halted.

Thus, a total of 10 hospitals have had their licenses revoked as part of the investigation.

The hospitals whose licenses have been revoked are as follows:

• Private Avcılar Hospital

• Private TRG Hospitalist Hospital

• Private Birinci Hospital

• Private Güney Hospital

• Private Bağcılar Medilife Hospital

• Private Beylikdüzü Medilife Hospital

• Private Reyap Istanbul Hospital

• Private Şafak Hospital Bağcılar

• Private Silivri Kolan Hospital

• Private Reyap Çorlu Hospital

In the letter sent from the General Directorate of Health Services to the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate, the following was noted:

"In accordance with the inspection report dated September 28, 2024, from the Board of Inspectors and its annexes, and the approval obtained from the Ministry dated September 18, 2024, based on said report, we request that the necessary actions be taken in line with the official approvals attached to this letter. These actions should be carried out in accordance with Article 65/A of the Private Hospitals Regulation, titled 'Procedures regarding patients in case of suspension of operations,' which states: 'In the event that operations are temporarily suspended or the license is revoked for all or part of a private hospital, the directorate shall first conduct an assessment regarding the current inpatients. The operations of the private hospital shall be suspended only after the treatment of patients who cannot be transferred is completed and those who can be transferred are moved to other hospitals. No new patient admissions can be made to hospitals in this situation.'"

INDICTMENT COMPLETED

In the indictment against the gang that caused the deaths of infants, it was requested that suspects Fırat Sarı and İlker Gönen be sentenced to a total of 177 years and 6 months to 582 years and 9 months in prison each for the crimes of "causing death by negligence," "qualified fraud," "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," and "forgery of official documents," to be applied 11 times.

For suspect Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir, a prison sentence of 180 years to 589 years and 9 months was requested for the crimes of "causing death by negligence," "unlawful acquisition of personal data," "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations," "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," and "forgery of official documents."

Prison sentences ranging from 10 to 437 years and 6 months were also requested for 18 other suspects, including doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers, for the crime of "causing death by negligence" regarding the deaths of the infants.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the threats made against Prosecutor Y.E. is ongoing.

WHAT HAPPENED?

It was revealed that a newborn gang, which formed a criminal network by colluding with certain doctors and nurses in private hospitals via the 112 emergency call center, kept infants in intensive care units to generate illicit profit.

Ten infants lost their lives in hospitals in Istanbul and Çorlu due to neglect and a lack of sufficient medical support.