European Patients' Day were held in Turkey

These activities had been done in Turkey due to 18 April - Patients' Rights Day

Handouts and posters

As of "Right to Health Movement Association - SHHD" and "Patients' Right Platform", we have handled some serious activities here in Turkey due to 18 April – Patients' Rights Day. We really appreciate the materials you sent to us. We have used and distributed each and every material to most of the health organisation in Manisa and especially Istanbul after we had carefully translated them into Turkish. Additionally, bearings and handouts/leaflets were also distributed and used during the press conferences.

* European Patients' Rights Day - Press Statement

We used, declared and published the press statement in many media – internet, written and visual medium.
You can find some of the internet adresses below:
http://www.sagliginsesi.com/face/index.php?sayfa=yazinin_devami&hid=05edf455cb266ccb3ea3ac2715f87326
http://www.abhaber.com/ozelhaber.php?id=655
http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16492
http://www.bianet.org/bianet/kategori/bianet/106416/hasta-haklari-sinir-tanimaz
http://www.stgm.org.tr/stkhaberdetay.php?detid=1517
http://www.pozitifyasam.org/index.php?contentId=273
http://www.televizyonforum.com/hasta-haklarinin-sinirlari-t5558.html?s=b91d83d6503fce241e4fb3c9e64773f3&
http://www.gomanweb.com/2008_gomanweb/HABER_YORUM4/Nisan_2008/18Nisan/Hasta-haklari.htm
http://www.saglikaktuel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2405&Itemid=5

Additionally, both the press statement and the "Patients' Rights Day" banners were published in our internet sites:
http://www.saglikhakki.org
http://www.hastahaklari.org

Health Organisations in Istanbul to which we distributed posters
Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical Faculty
Istanbul University, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty
Kuzguncuk Health Clinic
Uskudar Hospital
Validebag Hospital
Marmara Universitesi Medical Faculty Hospital
Zeynep Kamil Children Hospital,
Leprosy Hospital
Bakırköy Mental Hospital

Radio Programs
We started to announce the "European Patients' Rights Day" on the 31 March 2008 dated radio program and asked the audience to participate the activities to be held on 18 April 2008. Additionally, on the day of 18 April 2008, we participated to some leading radios' news programs by phone, informing about the "European Patients' Rights Day" (you can find a Picture taken during the program)

Manisa Patients' Rights Association
One of the most meaningful activities took place at Manisa. Foundation of "Manisa Patients' Rights Association" was also announced and the importance of patients' rights was shared with people all around the city. Leyla Hacıosmanoğlu who is a SHHD member of board, informed the participants about the "European Patients' Rights Day" and the activities (as seen in the picture).

NGO WORKGROUPS IN TURKISH PARLIAMENT

The Turkish Parliament TBMM, will form Workgroups where parliament members and members of NGO’s can work together in fields of common interest and for shared goals.

The NGO’s hereby will provide consulting services to the parliament members free of charge.

Coordinated by Şanar Yurdatapan, spokesman fort he Action Group against İntellectual Crime and Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, member of the house representing Adıyaman from the governing AKP Party, are the coordinators of this Project, in which members from various parties, even those which politically stand on totally opposing sides, can debate and search for solutions on well-defined problems.

Some of the Workgroups include: workgroup against land mines, workgroup for environmental problems, Womens’ rights and freedoms, children’s rights and freedoms, human rights, animal rights, transparancy in governing, zero tolerance to torture, poverty and corruption.

Also last workgroup is held on about "patients' rights and rights to health".

OUR LOCAL ORGANISATIONS

We are getting organised in Eskişehir and Manisa. With the support of the local law society in Eskişehir, we organised a first preparotary meeting with 30 participants and developed a draft statute, also leaning on former experiences.

In Manisa, a similar meeting took place with an enthusiastic audience and after discussing local problems in health care services, a coordination group was formed that will take responsibility for the official and formal work for the foundation of an association fort he right to health.

The transformational process in the field of government-supported health care and the social security system makes it necessary to rethink what should be taken for granted in the field of health care. Turkey is quickly moving towards a health care system, where all services are to be provided for a certain cost.

The commercialisation of health care services endangers the basic human right to health and calls for new, free-market oriented actors on the scene of health care services. In a structure, where services are basically provided for with the objective to make more profit, it’s inevitable that breaches of patients’ rights will abound.

Therefore, we deem it to be crucial to develop a functioning network of patients’ rights organisations and associations to improve consciousness in the field of right to health. With this aim in mind, we prepared a beginner’s guide explaining how to construct institutional frameworks and to provide information for the broader public, gain participants and organise campaigns.