President Erdoğan: The pandemic process has shown the importance of the strong healthcare infrastructure and free medical services in Turkey

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered remarks at the opening ceremony of the first phase of Başakşehir City Hospital, which has a capacity of over 1500 beds, in Istanbul.

Highlighting the significance of opening such a great facility while the world is having serious troubles with dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, President Erdoğan said: “We must appreciate what we have as the healthcare systems, even in developed countries, have crashed, and people are dying in their homes or hospital corridors due to insufficient treatment.”

“Turkey has shown its power by standing on its own feet while global organizations, international institutions, established with great hopes and ideals, are losing their meaning,” President Erdoğan said.

Noting that the pandemic process has shown the importance of the strong healthcare infrastructure and free medical services in Turkey, and said: “Citizens in underdeveloped countries do not have access to noteworthy medical services. And in developed countries, only those who have money can receive sufficient medical services. Every day, we come across reports that it costs very high in Western countries to have access to various medical treatments and medicines which are free in Turkey. Even our Western friends find it difficult to believe that 1.5 million people receive free treatment at home.”

President Erdoğan also congratulated the team that produced 100 medical ventilators and underlined that 5000 more ventilators will be produced by the end of May.