In the field hospital established by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality in Hatay, the operating room became operational. President Soyer stated that the field hospital embraced the earthquake victims with all its equipment and said, "We are determined to maintain our health service permanently." Eşrefpaşa Hospital Deputy Chief Physician Gaffar Karadoğan said that at least 350 patients were treated daily.
The field hospital established by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality in Hatay continues to provide health services to earthquake victims. The staff of Eşrefpaşa Hospital, which is the only municipal hospital in Turkey, was one of the first addresses people applied to both in the tent city and in the villages. Eşrefpaşa Hospital, which provides service with its staff consisting of physicians, pharmacists, assistant health personnel, operating room personnel, cleaning personnel, x-ray and laboratory technicians, both established an operating room and brought the first mobile vehicle to the region in oral and dental health.
Soyer: “We will continue the health service permanently”
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç SoyerStating that the field hospital in Hatay embraced the earthquake victims with all its equipment, he said, “We are determined to maintain our health services permanently, like all our services in the disaster area.
In our field hospital, specialist physicians and health personnel work on a rotating basis. Thus, earthquake victims can get the best health care they can get from a hospital here. Since February 6, 4 people, including 4 ambulance crews and 100 rotating teams, have served in the region. This week, 22 more people went to the region. In short, the health workers of Eşrefpaşa Hospital have been working with great devotion and great effort in our Hatay field hospital since the first day of the earthquake. I greet each of them with gratitude and gratitude. We will create a brand new sparkling Turkey from under this rubble. We will overcome these difficult days hand in hand, by supporting each other.”
“We are working hard”
İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Eşrefpaşa Hospital Deputy Chief Physician Gaffar Karadoğan stated that the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality intervened in the region in a professional and organized manner on February 6, when the disaster struck and said, "While trying to save those under the rubble in the acute phase of the earthquake, our health teams from İzmir sent our wounded to the surrounding provinces as soon as possible with 14 ambulances. They worked hard to transfer it. In the same period, our hospital's teams such as cardiovascular surgery, orthopedics, general surgery and internal medicine, which deal with trauma surgery, also moved to the region and worked hard in the garden of the city hospital established by AFAD for the first week. About 7 days after the arrival of our physicians on February 5, the service area was moved to the EXPO area. And here we started to build a field hospital. We try to help people by putting something on it every day.”
“We also work in villages and districts”
Saying that Izmir Metropolitan Municipality was the first institution to send mobile vehicles for oral and dental health in the Hatay region, Gaffar Karadoğan said, “One of the few municipalities that do social municipality rightfully, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality has a hospital team. We continue to serve not only with a fixed service here, but also by trying to touch patients in villages and districts with our blue belt ambulance, and by sending our mobile dental vehicle sometimes here and sometimes to villages. This service will continue with humane feelings, unconditionally and regardless of the duration. This consent of our president will never end with the love of service and the sense of solidarity of the staff.”
“Approximately 350 patients are treated daily”
Emphasizing that the articulated buses, where the patients can be followed and treated, are converted into sleeping units and brought here by ship via İskenderun, Karadoğan said, “We touch approximately 250 citizens daily, this number rises to 350 when we go to the villages. There is no unit where long-term follow-up can be made in the intensive care unit in Hatay. Those who are bad enough to need intensive care are transferred to the surrounding provinces after they are stabilized here. We are in a phase where preventive health services come to the fore. So there are no more traumas and new cases. What we need to do right now is to try and make sure people don't get sick. Public health services come first. But first of all, we must stand firm so that we can help the public. For this, our morale, motivation and resistance are very high. From where? Because we can bring everything we need from Izmir here. But all citizens should know that this is not a 3-5 day process. If you continue the excitement and solidarity of the first day, we can survive here.”
“Our operating room is operational”
Stating that the operating room has also become operational, Karadoğan said, “We can easily intervene in cases due to head trauma, penetrating or cutting injuries to the leg here. There is a large increase in cases of scabies. There is a serious shortage of drugs to intervene in cases of scabies. We can say no. There is a shampoo-type drug in the treatment of scabies. When you give shampoo to the patient, if the patient does not have a place to take a bath, he cannot be treated. And another thing is that the administrators of the health units serving in this region should come together, join forces, be aware of each other, and know what they can do and how much. We need to be united,” he said.