Rumeysa Berin Sen, a 25-year-old assistant doctor, was tragically killed when she crashed her car into a parked truck in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on her way home after a 36-hour vigil at a public hospital in the city.
"Doctors' lives are not counted"
The collision was severe and the members of the rescue crews took more than an hour to free her lifeless body from the wreckage. The unfortunate Sen apparently fell asleep at the wheel after a grueling 36-hour vigil.
However, Sen's death provoked strong reactions and brought back to light the inhumane working conditions of doctors in Turkey, who are forced into exhausting 36-hour shifts.
"Forcing to work in inhumane conditions cost the life of a doctor. "The lives of doctors, who work 11 hours a day on the 36th day of the month, are not counted," the Health and Social Services Workers' Union (SES) said in a statement.
Sen had recently graduated from medical school and passed the Medical Specialty (TUS) exam. In July 2021, she started working as an assistant doctor in the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of Ankara Hospital.
"We are outraged!"
The Ankara Medical Chamber, in a message on its social media account, said: "We lost a young colleague… We are very sad and angry! We lost a fellow doctor assistant as a result of intense workload and alternating shifts without sleep ".
Benan Koyunsu from the Human Rights Branch of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) expressed her condolences via Twitter, while criticizing:
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague. "Listen to the voices of doctors, who are forced to work in inhumane conditions with alternate shifts and without leave after the shift and who are subjected to mobbing and violence."
#AssistanHekimler You's the only one who deserves to be our professional. Do not act as human beings during the night vigils with the help of vigilantes after the vigils, mobbing the vultures, the vigilantes of the doctors's!https://t.co/BUTjxQNshs
— Benan Koyuncu (@BenanKoyuncu) October 23, 2021
The Assistant and Young Specialists Department of the Turkish Medical Association also expressed concerns about working conditions on social media.
Doctors protested all over Turkey yesterday over the tragic event, with the central slogan "No accident but murder".
https://twitter.com/ankaratabipoda/status/1452583675812581379
The mobilization was organized by the Turkish Medical Association, which called on doctors to "honor the memory of our colleague and claim our rights."
On October 25.10.2021, 12.30, at XNUMX pm, all the assistants will be taken care of by our patients, and we will leave immediately. https://t.co/bh3idhE1ZK
- Sebnem KorurFincanci (@SKorurFincanci) October 23, 2021
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