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shahrezade1001 · Joined: 31 May 2006 Posts: 19

Another pre-trip question for you guys...I was wondering what the quality of health care is like there. Are there decent doctors there? Are only the most expensive ones decent? And if so, what is expensive? Thank you all!

tekirdag · Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 505

In Istanbul there are some good hospitals. A doctor visit anywhere will cost from about 40 tl up. (If u r lucky enough to find one for 40! It can 80 or more.)) There are government hospitals and a legal teacher can be covered under the government's SSK insurance plan. These hospitals, however, are generally considered not so good as the private hospitals.

When you arrive in Turkey, get yourself some good private health insurance. I am covered under İsvi�re Hayat. Full coverage for a foreigner is about 1500 lira but can be paid in installments. It sounds steep but it is well worth it as even just a few days in a private hospital can really hurt the bank account!

shahrezade1001 · Joined: 31 May 2006 Posts: 19

Thank you so much for all of your help!

Sheikh Inal Ovar · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1208 Location: Melo Drama School

mongrelcat · Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 232

speaking of health care

does anyone know what the procedure is to go see a specialist if you have SSK?

i've been told i have to get the tax document from accounting at my school, then go to a public hospital, see someone who then decides whether i need the specific treatment or not.

all i want to do is get an ingrown nail taken care of. (sorry if that's TMI)

maybe i should just pay for it.

shahrezade1001 · Joined: 31 May 2006 Posts: 19

Sheikh, I obviously insulted you, so I apologize for that. I know that this is a sensitive issue, which is why I chose to ask about it on an anonymous forum. (A bit of cowardice there on my part, I will readily admit.)

I do not feel that there was any lack of clarity in my question. You may or not be aware that the U.S. state department mentions on their Turkey fact sheet that they evacuate U.S. staff and their spouses who expect to give birth. This is rarely mentioned on their fact sheets. Giving birth is obviously not a particularly dangerous or uncommon medical condition. Thus, I conclude that the U.S. government has little faith in the Turkish medical system. The U.S. govt does not give similar warnings about Jordan, where I previously lived, and I know of *many* stories there of people who received what in the U.S. would be considered unacceptably poor medical treatment.

Sheikh Inal Ovar · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1208 Location: Melo Drama School

It depends what you call insulted ...

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

Evacuating pregnant staff is very common with blue chip companies working in either less well off countries or Gulf countries because the employer wants to take no blame should complications arise and more importantly the employer does not want any problems regarding insurance claims.

I think the work evacuate is a bit over the top-medical leave in your country of domicile would be more correct. A large British employer in Saudi Arabia does exactly the same but it is not because of a lack of faith in local medical care but simply because of insurance and a fear of a law suit if something went wrong.

yaramaz · Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 6:09 am Post subject:

I've had several excellent doctors in Turkey for various reasons, both private and ssk (thanks to asthma, pollution, and slippery, icy winters in Anatolia!). They were all professional, thorough, and, er, decent. Mind you, I've also had excellent doctors in a small clinic in Ghana, in rural Hungary, and other places the North American embassies warn us all about.

tekirdag · Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 505

Sheikh Inal Ovar · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1208 Location: Melo Drama School

What is it with this anger and insult business ... why would debating what someone said imply anger or insult ... we don't all have to use our fists to argue, do we ...

Anyhow, it's the question "Are there any decent doctors there?" .. which is the really sloppy bit ...

The initial statement "I was wondering what the quality of health care is like there" - quite ordinary in itself - was qualified by the sloppy one, so can be read as being in the spirit of the sloppy one ....

shahrezade1001 · Joined: 31 May 2006 Posts: 19

I definitely felt anger and insult towards me in your post, so if it was unintended you now have the chance to say so.

Perhaps your misunderstanding stems from my definition of the word 'decent.' I just went to a doctor last month at a nationwide top 10 rated hospital in the U.S. who I would not consider decent at all. A decent doctor, to me, performs all necessary tests, produces accurate diagnoses, and prescribes appropriate medicine. To do any less puts the patient in danger and has consequences for public health. I'd put the number of doctors in the U.S. who consistently meet that standard at about 50%, which is high worldwide. I was never fully satisfied with any doctor I saw in Jordan, and I went only to doctors who had been recommended, often by wealthy people or foreigners. Maybe it's because my whole family is in medicine that I am particularly horrified by (and aware of) what I see as low quality care.

That said, I am sure that there are a couple of decent doctors in any country, so I did misuse the word 'any.' What I meant was, is it reasonably easy to find doctors who will meet my standards.

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

You will never find an employer in Turkey who meets your standards.

Sheikh Inal Ovar · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1208 Location: Melo Drama School

shahrezade1001 · Joined: 31 May 2006 Posts: 19

I really don't want to get into a big argument about this, but it is difficult to resist responding.

First of all, I can tell you honestly that I have been offended by some things that people on this forum have said about Turkey, but I did not point them out. In part, this is because I really doubt that I could change peoples' minds on a forum.

In part, it is because--and this is my second point to you--it is very hard to tell how people intend their statements on media such as email, forums, etc. You don't know me, I don't know you. I don't know the people who offended me. Maybe they didn't mean their statements in the way that I took them. In any case, they are total strangers and I really can't reasonably expect for all total strangers to always speak in ways that I would like. People don't spend hours crafting their forum posts. Look at all of the misspellings and grammar mistakes from English teachers (myself included.) Criticizing peoples' forum posts is a fool's errand, in my opinion, unless they say something truly hateful.

However (point three) the word which *I* would use to describe your tone to me is "sarcastic." In my way of thinking, criticizing someone who you don't know through sarcasm is hostile. Maybe you didn't mean it that way, but that's how it sounded.