Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca presented the 2023 budget of the Ministry of Health at the Planning and Budget Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and answered the questions of the deputies. Deputy Ministers of Health and senior bureaucrats were also present at the presentation.
In his speech at the Parliamentary Plan and Budget Committee, Minister Koca said that they are trying to spend the entrusted resource in the most efficient way, taking into account the rights and responsibilities on it.
Dr. Koca stated that hospitals equipped with the most advanced technology are put into service one by one and the Ministry provides services with more than 14 thousand health institutions, including 953 hospitals and 8 thousand family health centers.
“We have significantly reduced infant and maternal mortality”
Minister Koca said, "We have made significant progress in basic health indicators since 2002," and added, "We have significantly reduced infant and maternal mortality. We are determined to further reduce the deaths of infants and children under the age of 5, which we have been following meticulously for years.
“We have not left our citizens alone anywhere in the world”
Expressing that while the number of cases and deaths around the world is increasing, they have managed to keep Türkiye away from the unwanted images experienced in countries that are said to be developed, Dr. Koca said, “We have not left our citizens alone anywhere in the world. We crossed the continents with our ambulance planes and brought 185 sick citizens to our country.”
Dr. Koca said, “We were one of the first countries to supply vaccines worldwide. We started widespread vaccination, starting with our healthcare workers. Unlike many countries, we offered our citizens vaccine alternatives produced with different technology. In a short time, we produced our own vaccine, Turkovac. We broke a record in the number of daily vaccinations. In the first 2 months, we became the second country among European countries to vaccinate its citizens.”
“We set an example for many countries with the HES code”
Stating that patients and their contacts were closely monitored with digital tools, Dr. Koca said, “We provided active support to our citizens with the help line and the Covid-19 information platform, and to our healthcare workers under stress with the psychosocial support line. We worked in full harmony with our family physicians and the field hospitals we set up at the border gates. With the Lifw Fits Home (HES) application, we have outlined the risk map. We set an example for many countries with the HES code. With the digital vaccination passport, we ensured the safe travel of our citizens.”
“The construction of 7 city hospitals continues”
Stating that 14 city hospitals, which were completed with the public-private partnership model, serve with a bed capacity of 22,675, Dr. Koca made the following assessment:
“With our 4 hospitals under construction with the same model, 5 thousand 755 beds will be added. 6 city hospitals, which have been built with general budget resources so far, provide services with a bed capacity of 6,730. The construction of 7 city hospitals also continues.”
“We have become the country with the best progress in monitoring indicators”
Minister Koca said, “According to the Report on the Monitoring of Commitments for Non-Communicable Diseases in Europe, we have become the country that provides the best progress in monitoring indicators”. He also added that the newborn screening program continues, thus providing an average of 25 thousand babies and children with early diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation opportunities. Reminding that they added Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and SMA to their screening program this year, Dr. Koca said, “We started SMA screening for couples to be married for newborn babies. We guide the couples and start the treatment of the babies we detect as soon as possible”.
“We have increased the resources we allocate to preventive health services 8 times in the 2023 budget”
Stating that the number of Healthy Life Centers reached 232 as of October, Dr. Koca said, “We have increased the resources we have allocated for preventive health services 8 times in the 2023 budget, increasing to 84 billion 39 million liras.”
Minister Koca also stated that 57 thousand patients have been transported by air ambulance and 31 thousand patients have been transported by sea ambulance, and the number of patients transported by land ambulances approached 6 million in the 10 months of this year.
“We share the health information of our patients in intensive care with their relatives on e-Nabız on a daily basis”
Minister Koca said, “We have increased the number of intensive care beds in the hospitals by 28 times, which exceeded 24 thousand”.
“We did not only increase capacity in intensive care. With the application we have developed, we have been sharing the health information of our patients in intensive care with their relatives on a daily basis via e-Nabız, since June.”
“Within the scope of Interactive Video-Based Autism screening, 2 million 264 thousand children were reached”
Reminding that the Rare Diseases Action Plan has been prepared, Koca said, “2 million 264 thousand children were reached within the scope of Interactive Video-Based Autism screening. Multidisciplinary Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service Units (ÇÖZGEM) were implemented as pilots in 3 provinces. It will be expanded across the country as soon as possible," Dr. Koca said.
“With our 85 thousand new colleagues, we will employ 115 thousand additional personnel”
Pointing out that the number of healthcare workers has reached 1 million 359 thousand, 777 thousand of which are within the Ministry, Dr. Koca said, “With our 85 thousand new colleagues that we plan to recruit within the scope of the White Reform in Health, we will employ 115 thousand additional personnel.”
The number of specialist physicians and physicians employed in the public sector is approximately 24 thousand.
According to the data in the table shared by Minister Koca, the total number of specialist physicians and physicians who resigned from the public sector this year was 4 thousand 194, while the number of specialist physicians and physicians employed reached 23 thousand 713.
The data in question includes the number of specialist physicians and physicians employed in October, and those who leave to move to universities and other public institutions.
In his presentation, Dr. Koca stated that the investment in 979 primary health care institutions and 345 hospitals, reaching a bed capacity of 60 thousand, continues from the project stage to the construction stage, and said, “In the last 20 years, 3 thousand 992 health facilities, 738 of which are hospitals, have been completed and put into service. It is planned to invest in 177 facilities, 45 of which are hospitals, in the next year.”
Dr. Koca also pointed out that Türkiye will open up to the world with the “Health Türkiye” brand in order to contribute to global health and to reach its goals of being among the leading countries in health.
“86 percent of the vaccines in our immunization program will be produced in Hıfzıssıhha”
Pointing out that the construction of the Hıfzıssıhha Türkiye Vaccine and Biotechnological Product Research and Production Center continues, Dr. Koca said, “After the center becomes operational, our vaccine and biotechnological product studies will accelerate. 86 percent of the vaccines in our immunization program will be produced in Hıfzıssıhha.”
“We are making preparations to allocate a midwife to each pregnant woman”
Stating that preparations are made for allocating a midwife for each pregnant woman in order to encourage normal birth for healthy generations, Dr. Koca said, “We are expanding the fully equipped Addiction Counseling, Treatment and Rehabilitation (BAHAR) centers that will make it easier for our addicted patients to embrace life. We are opening Multidisciplinary Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centers (ÇÖZGEM) in every province, which will constitute the health contact point of our special children. We continue our work for the Health Valley, which will create new employment for thousands of people and become the center of domestic and national health technologies.”
At the end of his presentation, Minister Koca emphasized that they aim to serve people with compassion and conveyed his thanks to the whole healthcare family, who made it possible for them to get through difficult times together with their effort, perseverance and self-sacrifice.
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