Etlik City Hospital, one of the biggest health care complexes in the Turkish capital Ankara, was inaugurated on Wednesday by President Recep Erdoğan. The second hospital of its kind in Ankara, it will serve thousands every day and is the 20th city hospital Türkiye has constructed. The complex, constituting eight different hospitals, is part of the country’s health care reforms to modernize hospitals and also hosts the largest clinical research center in the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Erdoğan said it was one of the “symbols” of “our health care revolution.” He said the hospital will have a capacity of 4,050 beds, 125 surgery rooms and is a major health hub. “It will provide a comfortable environment both for patients and health care workers,” he said.
The president stated that city hospitals were “exemplary” in the world and they sought to increase their number to 34. “We still have 13 hospitals under construction and two more hospitals are being designed,” he said.
City hospitals, a sharp contrast to damp, gloomy hospitals of Türkiye’s crumbling health care system in the 1990s and early 2000s, reflect the government’s health care reforms for quality service to patients in public hospitals. More spacious than regular public hospitals, which were also reformed in terms of service and infrastructure, city hospitals aim to allocate one room to each patient, unlike crowded wards of the past. Most rooms resemble hotel rooms with enough space and amenities for people accompanying patients.
