Dentists were expecting 20,000 appointments: Only 1 percent was met!

The Ministry of Health has announced the number of dentist positions for the first-time and re-appointment for 2024. Despite the expectation that at least 1,000 people would be appointed, only 286 people were appointed.

DEMAND FOR 20,000 APPOINTMENTS

Evaluating the issue, Health Services Union (SAHİM-SEN) President Özlem Akarken stated the following:

“At least 1,000 of our dentists who are waiting for appointments were waiting with the hope of being appointed. Unfortunately, the number was reflected in the list as 286 people. As a result of thousands of dentists graduating every year from dental faculties that are constantly being opened without even a faculty member or a training hospital, and with nearly 20,000 dentists waiting for appointments, a physician inflation has occurred. This announced 286 positions for the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice has been a painful saving for our public health and the physicians waiting for appointments. Moreover, the prisons affiliated with the Ministry of Justice are also included in the opened positions.”

CITIZENS ARE GOING TO PRIVATE CLINICS!

Akarken made the following statements:

“Oral and Dental Health Centers are experiencing a shortage of personnel as well as a shortage of materials. Regulations regarding the personal rights of health personnel working in prisons are being ignored, and there are also personnel who are appointed and then resign due to the conditions. As a result of this process, which continues without taking into account the socio-economic situation of our country, without calculating population growth, and without making the necessary infrastructure preparations, oral and dental health treatments in the public sector remain inconclusive, and our citizens are looking for a cure for their problems in private clinics.”

WE WARNED THEM MANY TIMES!

“We warned them many times before the number of dentist recruitments was announced, and we said that there were nearly 20,000 dentists waiting for appointments. We believe that those who try to solve the issue by opening more MHRS (Central Physician Appointment System) slots for existing dentists in order to increase the number of patients who can receive oral and dental health services in the public sector forget that oral and dental health services consist of interventional procedures. We are waiting for solution-oriented work from the ‘General Directorate of Oral and Dental Health,’ which was established within the Ministry and is worthy of the Century of Turkey. In order to ensure that Oral and Dental Health Services in our country reach an effective and wide audience, population-based dentist planning and appointments must be made. In this regard, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, and the Ministry of Health are the authorities that will solve the problem.”

News Source: 12punto