Report: Seven doctors flee Turkey every day

The Ankara Chamber of Doctors published a report on the quotas of the medical departments of state and private universities in Turkey and criticized the government policy of increasing the number of doctors.

The report stressed that the annual student quota of the medical faculties increased from 4,550 in 2003 to 18,434 in 2022.

“The country needs qualified and well-trained doctors. The number doesn't solve anything. Take care of the trained doctors you have, protect them from violence, give them their personal rights, and provide a good working 

According to the report, state universities have over 100 thousand students while the private ones have close to 15 thousand, in a total of 128 medical faculties and this number increases every year. 

The faculties could not provide a qualified education without providing appropriate physical conditions, and this endangers public health, the report said. 

Earlier, the Turkish Medical Association also said that a record number of doctors in Turkey received certificates of good standing in the month of July, a document required to apply for vacancies abroad. 

The total number of doctors who received the certificate reached 1,402 in the first seven months of 2022.

The extraordinary hardships caused by overwork during the COVID-19 pandemics, the increase in the violence targeting health workers and the diminishing living standards because of underpaid work have been further exacerbated as office rents have recently become unaffordable for many doctors as inflation continues to rise in Turkey.