Under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, doctors, healthcare professionals and hospitals all over Türkiye mobilized with all their resources to heal the wounds of 11 provinces affected by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. In the February 6 earthquakes, described as the “disaster of the century”, more than 50 thousand people lost their lives, millions of people separated from their loved ones and relatives, and had to struggle with serious health problems. Türkiye's medical army has undertaken an unprecedented mobilization from the first moments of the earthquake to maintain services in the region. Healthcare professionals, National Medical Rescue Teams (UMKE), ambulances, medical and surgical equipment were dispatched to the region under the coordination of the Ministry of Health, and field hospitals were quickly established in earthquake provinces. Hospitals all over Türkiye made the necessary preparations for treatment of patients sent from the earthquake provinces by ambulance planes, helicopters and vehicles. Since the first day of the earthquake, 138 thousand 190 people, including 15 thousand 883 UMKE and Emergency Health Services personnel, 21 thousand 204 physicians, 62 thousand 590 health workers and 38 thousand 513 support personnel, have been assigned to work in 11 provinces from different cities. 1810 ambulances, 245 UMKE vehicles and 16 air ambulances served in the earthquake region.Health screenings extended to mountain villages The number of primary care examinations in the provinces of the earthquake zone exceeded 18 million. UMKE teams reached the mountain villages where the snow depth exceeded 1 meter and performed health screenings of the earthquake victims. Approximately 3 million people were reached within the scope of health screenings in villages. Furthermore, all oral and dental health and laboratory services, including filling, extraction, root canal treatment, were also provided to earthquake victims with equipped mobile vehicles. In addition to field pharmacies in the region, one in every three pharmacies started to provide service in Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman and Malatya on the 8th day of the earthquake.New hospitals started operating Following the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, the construction of new hospitals in the region started rapidly, while 7 state hospitals were put into operation in Hatay, one of the provinces that suffered the most severe damage in the earthquake. In this regard, Hatay Defne State Hospital opened its doors to the people of the region on 21 May 2023, 57 days after the start of its construction. As of the end of October, 177 thousand examinations and 1100 surgeries were performed in the hospital, which continues to provide health services with its 300-bed capacity, 36 polyclinics, 11 operating rooms and state-of-the-art devices.3 new hospitals will be opened in three months In addition, state hospitals with 100 beds in Erzin, 120 beds in Altınözü, and 100 beds in Payas, districts of Hatay, are planned to be opened within 3 months. On the other hand, there will be constructed Hatay City Hospital, with a capacity of 1000 beds, in the province.
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