Sağlık-Sen official criticizes healthcare target-driven policies

Hasan Hüseyin Köksal, the Eskişehir branch president of the Sağlık-Sen health workers' union, has criticized current healthcare policies for prioritizing quantitative targets over service quality. Köksal argues that the heavy emphasis on numerical goals—such as examination counts, performance metrics, MRI scans, and health screening rates—does not accurately reflect the actual health status of the public or the exhaustion of medical staff.

Köksal stated that healthcare policies should be built on quality rather than quantity, highlighting issues with hospital access and the patient-provider relationship. He noted that the pressure to meet specific targets in primary care is forcing healthcare professionals, including midwives and nurses, into roles that feel like street solicitation to meet quotas. Furthermore, he warned that the pressure from administrators to meet these numbers has led to instances of mobbing and decreased motivation among the ‘health army’.