The state of Turkey's first pandemic hospital, founded by Atatürk's order, is heartbreaking...

The Sanatorium Hospital, established on Heybeliada in Istanbul, away from the city and in an area with clean air, has been in a derelict state for years. It is known that famous figures such as President İsmet İnönü and the author Rıfat Ilgaz received treatment at the hospital. Budget support from the state was cut during the 1980 coup.

The hospital received its biggest blow during those years. Until 1999, efforts were made to keep the hospital buildings standing with maintenance performed on a limited budget. Significant damage occurred during the August 17, 1999 earthquake. The roofs were damaged, and the roof of a part of the hospital was completely destroyed that year. On August 1, 2005, with the approval of the Ministry of Health, it was decided to transfer the Heybeliada Sanatorium, along with its staff and medical equipment, to the Süreyyapaşa Chest, Heart and Vascular Diseases Training and Research Hospital. The hospital, which has remained idle for 19 years, has been left to its fate.

TURKEY'S FIRST PANDEMIC HOSPITAL

The final state of the hospital was revealed through aerial footage, showing how heartbreaking it has become. The hospital, whose roofs and walls have collapsed, is known for being Turkey's first pandemic hospital.

Researcher and Archaeologist Ömer Faruk Yavaşçay stated, “A sanatorium is a hospital used for the treatment of long-term illnesses. The first sanatorium in our country was opened in 1924 by the order of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Treatment for tuberculosis began. Long-term tuberculosis cases were treated. When it was first established, it had a capacity of 16 beds; later, in the 1940s, the hospital was expanded. Additional buildings were constructed, and it grew larger. In the 1980s, after the coup, state support for the hospital was cut. It was a hospital supported by the Ministry of Health until the 1980s.

'SUPPORT FOR THE HOSPITAL WAS CUT AFTER THE COUP'

With the coup, the support given to the hospital was cut. After this process, the hospital tried to meet its own needs. The hospital was heavily damaged in the 1999 earthquake. It tried to recover with the help of some banks. By 2005, the hospital's needs reached a level that could no longer be met,” he said.

Emphasizing that not many patients could come to the hospital because it was on the islands, Yavaşçay concluded his words by saying, “Later, the hospital was closed by the Ministry of Health. In 2009, a small-scale fire occurred. It was extinguished by the island's fire department. Chest diseases, primarily tuberculosis, were treated at this hospital. Even if other diseases were treated in later years, its beginning was tuberculosis and chest diseases. The reason the hospital was built on the islands is that it is located in the Çam Limanı area in the southern part of Heybeliada, away from Istanbul, where the air is clean. This place is a region where the air is very clean. For this reason, it was preferred to build the hospital in this area. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the hospital's founding; for this reason, it should be turned into a museum.”

News Source : 12punto