Deaths of 10 newborns shake millions’ trust in Turkey’s health care system

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The mother thought her babe looked patient erstwhile he was calved 1.5 months early, but unit swiftly whisked him to nan neonatal intensive attraction unit.

It was nan past clip Burcu Gokdeniz would spot her babe alive. The expert successful complaint told her that Umut Ali’s bosom stopped aft his wellness deteriorated unexpectedly.

Seeing her boy wrapped successful a shroud 10 days aft he was calved was nan “worst moment” of her life, nan 32-year-old e-commerce master told The Associated Press.

Gokdeniz is among hundreds of parents who person travel guardant seeking an investigation into nan deaths of their children aliases different loved ones since Turkish prosecutors accused 47 doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers and different aesculapian workers of neglect aliases malpractice successful nan deaths of 10 newborns since past year.

The aesculapian workers opportunity they made nan champion imaginable judgement calls while caring for nan astir delicate patients imaginable, and look criminal penalties for unwanted outcomes.

Shattered parents opportunity they person mislaid spot successful nan strategy and nan cases person prompted truthful overmuch outrage that demonstrators staged protests successful October extracurricular hospitals wherever immoderate of nan deaths occurred, hurling stones astatine nan buildings.

Prosecutors haven’t said really overmuch nan defendants allegedly earned. After nan ungraded emerged, astatine slightest 350 families petitioned prosecutors, nan Health Ministry aliases nan president’s agency seeking an investigation into nan deaths of their loved ones, nan state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The prosecution’s case

Prosecutors are demanding up to 583 years successful situation for nan main defendant, Dr. Firat Sari, who operated nan neonatal intensive attraction units of respective hospitals successful Istanbul. Sari is charged pinch “establishing an statement pinch nan purpose of committing a crime,” “defrauding nationalist institutions,” “forgery of charismatic documents” and “homicide by negligence.”

Prosecutors opportunity that nan grounds intelligibly shows aesculapian fraud for profit. An indictment issued this period accused nan defendants of falsifying records, and placing patients successful nan neonatal attraction units of immoderate backstage hospitals for prolonged and sometimes unnecessary treatments successful accommodation unprepared to dainty them.

Turkey guarantees each citizens wellness care, and its nationalist wellness strategy reimburses backstage hospitals that dainty eligible patients. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, successful powerfulness since 2002, has promoted nan description of backstage wellness attraction accommodation to amended entree successful nan state of 85 cardinal people.

Years without a family, past a death

After years of fertility treatment, Ozan Eskici and his woman welcomed twins — a boy and a woman — to 1 of Sari’s hospitals successful 2019. Although nan babies initially appeared to beryllium healthy, some were admitted to intensive care. The woman was discharged aft 11 days, but nan boy died 24 days later.

During questioning by prosecutors, Sari denied accusations that nan babies were not fixed nan due care, that nan neonatal units were understaffed aliases that his labor were not appropriately qualified, according to a 1,400-page indictment.

He told prosecutors: “Everything is successful accordance pinch procedures.”

This week, a tribunal successful Istanbul approved nan indictment — which includes hundreds of pages of transcripts of secretly taped recordings of telephone conversations betwixt suspects — and scheduled nan proceedings day for Nov. 18.

The measurement that nan lawsuit has horrified nan federation has near nan defendants progressively isolated.

Lawyer Ali Karaoglan said he and 2 different attorneys who represented Sari during nan investigation person precocious withdrawn from nan case. And authorities person since revoked nan licenses and closed 9 of nan 19 hospitals implicated successful nan scandal, including 1 owned by a erstwhile wellness minister.

The ungraded has led main guidance statement leader Ozgur Ozel to telephone for each hospitals progressive to beryllium seized by nan authorities and nationalized. Erdogan said those responsible for nan deaths would beryllium severely punished but warned against placing each blasted connected nan country’s wellness attraction system.

“We will not let our wellness attraction organization to beryllium battered because of a fewer rotten apples,” Erdogan said, calling nan alleged culprits “a pack of group devoid of humanity.”

“This pack ... committed specified bad atrocities by exploiting nan accommodation provided by our authorities to guarantee citizens pinch higher value and much accessible, affordable healthcare,” Erdogan said.

He added: “Those who perpetrate specified barbarism will beryllium held accountable earlier nan rule successful nan astir terrible measurement for their crimes. As nan president, I will proceed to travel this rumor personally to guarantee that these killers, who played pinch nan lives of guiltless babies for financial gain, ne'er spot nan ray of time again.”

No much spot successful nan system

Gokdeniz, who gave commencement successful 2020, said she trusted Sari and accepted her son’s decease arsenic earthy until she watched nan ungraded unfold successful TV news and connected societal media.

“It each started to autumn into spot for illustration dominoes,” she said.

Eskici, too, had placed complete spot successful Sari, whose assurances he now views arsenic sadistic deceptions.

“The sentences he told maine are successful beforehand of my eyes for illustration it was yesterday,” he said.

Sibel Kosal, who mislaid her babe girl Zeynep astatine a backstage infirmary successful 2017, is besides seeking answers. She says nan ungraded has shattered her spot successful nan wellness attraction strategy and near her successful changeless fearfulness for her surviving children.

“They person ruined a dada and a mom,” she said.

Kosal pleaded to nan authorities to return contiguous action.

“Don’t fto babies die, don’t fto mothers cry,” she said. “We want a livable world, 1 wherever our children are safe.”

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Badendieck reported from Hamburg, Germany.