Second wave in newborn investigation: 14 more people detained

A new operation has been conducted as part of the investigation into a gang in Istanbul alleged to have caused the deaths of newborn babies by neglecting them in private hospitals.

In the operation carried out today, 14 people, including doctors and nurses, were detained.

Due to the insufficient capacity of the Bakırköy Courthouse 22nd High Criminal Court Hall, the hearing is being held in the conference hall.

47 DEFENDANTS ATTENDED THE HEARING

Fırat Sarı and İlker Gönen were among the 47 defendants, 22 of whom are in custody, who attended the hearing. Some defendants not in custody and lawyers for the parties were present in the hall. To date, the defenses of the 47 defendants, 22 of whom are in custody, have been heard. The hearing began around 10:30 AM with the defense attorneys' statements regarding requests for participation and detention status.

It was determined that because the Social Security Institution (SGK) makes a daily payment of 8 thousand TL for baby patients treated in private hospitals, hospital staff continued to keep babies in the hospital who had recovered and should have been discharged.

Furthermore, it was determined that the doctors required to be in intensive care units 24/7 were not present in order to avoid costs, and were only shown as on duty in official records, while the doctors were actually elsewhere when the babies' conditions worsened.

THEY COMMUNICATED BY PHONE IN EMERGENCIES

It was also revealed that nurses were operating the intensive care units, giving each other instructions by phone on what interventions to perform in emergencies, and that when patients' relatives wanted to speak with a doctor, the nurses introduced themselves as doctors.

Additionally, it was determined that the babies' daily epicrisis reports were prepared contrary to the truth and were often written by nurses or patient care staff instead of doctors.

14 SUSPECTS DETAINED

It was learned that when the condition of babies lying in intensive care units worsened, the doctors on duty did not go to the hospital, resulting in the deaths of the babies.

In this context, in a simultaneous operation conducted on December 4, 2024, 14 suspects, including 5 doctors, 3 nurses, 5 healthcare workers, and 1 civilian, were apprehended and detained. Digital materials used by the suspects were seized.

2 SUSPECTS ARE FUGITIVES

While 14 of the 16 suspects were detained, it was stated that one person is a fugitive abroad and another is being sought abroad.