Family physicians gather in Istanbul against regulation: 'We are fighting against systematic loss of rights'

Family physicians, nurses, and midwives held a press conference in front of the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate against the Family Medicine Contract and Payment Regulation, which is publicly referred to as the "Persecution Regulation."

The Istanbul Medical Chamber (İTO), the Union and Solidarity Syndicate, the Family Medicine Employees Syndicate (AHESEN), HEP-SEN, and the Istanbul Family Medicine Association (İSTAHED) supported the statement.

Reading the joint statement, İSTAHED Vice President Dr. Nahide Toksan commemorated Dr. Ekrem Karakaya, who lost his life as a result of an armed attack while on duty on July 6, 2022. Stating that Karakaya's death shows the point that violence in healthcare has reached, Toksan said that health workers are facing not only violence but also systematic loss of rights due to "wrong health policies and heavy working conditions."

REACTION TO THE REGULATION

Toksan argued that the regulations issued by the Ministry of Health deepen the loss of rights for family medicine employees. Expressing that with the recently enacted Family Medicine Payment and Contract Regulation, approximately 65 percent of monthly income is tied to performance criteria, Toksan stated that this situation has turned into an "economic and professional destruction," especially for health workers who have to undergo treatment for a long time.

The statement noted that some health workers struggling with cancer, severe chronic diseases, and serious health problems first lost a large part of their income, and then their contracts were terminated on the grounds of sick leave periods exceeding 180 days. Toksan said that due to the current legislation, these individuals cannot return to family medicine for two years.

Speaking on behalf of the Union and Solidarity Syndicate, midwife Melike Sigeze also stated that sick health workers are left to face health problems, financial difficulties, and contract termination. Sigeze said, "We will not remain silent about any health worker being victimized due to their illness. What is criminal is to punish a health worker struggling with illness through their salary and contract."

İSTAHED President Dr. Sercan Ahmet Uluç stated that the practice has dire consequences for sick health workers, noting that the contracts of 3 physicians and 1 nurse were terminated on the grounds that they could not work for a long time. Addressing the Ministry of Health officials, Uluç asked whether the same situation would apply to them.

Health workers demanded the withdrawal of the regulation's provisions that punish sick employees and the resolution of the loss of rights regarding the income, contracts, and working conditions of family medicine employees.

News Source: 12punto