Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca answered journalists' questions about the agenda after the Cabinet Meeting held in the Presidential Complex.
Upon being asked by a member of the press about “the procedures in the article written by the faculty members of Medical Faculty of Istanbul University regarding the processes of gender reassignment under the age of 18”, Koca said; "This is an area in which we act very sensitively. First of all, it is about health. Our stance is very clear if the procedures in question are necessary for health. If the case is the health of a citizen, we try our best to solve this problem with all our means. This is for all kinds of health problems.”
Koca informed, "If the procedures in question had been applied to those under the age of 18, this is unacceptable. We will never allow this. We have very clear rules in this regard and we obey them. The Ministry of Health’s investigation continues. We will share the results of our investigation with you."
"The allegations are completely untrue"
When asked by a journalist about the allegations that there was a shortage of medical supplies in some hospitals and that treatment could not be provided due to this, Koca stated that there was an article with the headline "Medical supply crisis prevented sewing the severed finger".
Koca answered the allegations as follows:
"The allegations are completely untrue. The patient applied to the Gülhane Training and Research Hospital Emergency Service on Friday, 18 August 2023 due to total amputation because of their right hand’s first finger squeezing in the door. The patient was examined by the orthopedic clinic and an urgent replantation surgery was planned.The physician to perform the operation requested that the 11-0 prolene suture required for the operation be prepared and that the patient be taken into surgery immediately. Upon giving false information that the material, which is not in the operating room warehouse but in the main warehouse of the hospital, is not available in the hospital, Ankara Etlik City Hospital was contacted and the material was provided. After the material was provided, the patient was taken into surgery and the operation, which took about 5 hours, was successfully completed.
Stating that the patient's physical examination on the 3rd day of the replantation revealed that the replanted part was alive and the surgery was successful, Minister Koca said:
"Necessary investigation has been initiated by the hospital management about the people related to the disruptions in the supply of materials during the surgery. It is also out of question to inform the patient or their relatives that the surgery will be performed after the supplies are provided or that they should provide the supplies."
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