Cerrahpasa Hospital, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, has been one of the most active in the fight against Covid-19 in Turkey. The intensive care unit was as close as possible to the patients suffering from coronavirus.

"The first wave is not over yet and all countries are preparing for a second wave in the fall. Of course we expect it to happen here too, but we have the capacity to take care of all patients" , explains doctor Yalim Dikmen, head of this service.

The intensive care unit of this hospital has only seven patients left. But even at the height of the pandemic, it was never overwhelmed. To avoid the influx of patients suffering at an advanced stage of the disease, one of the specificities of the Turkish hospital approach was early care.

"The doors of the hospital are open to everyone, there is no limit, if you have the slightest problem, the slightest doubt, you can go to the hospital, that's the most important point I think ", says Professor Nuri Aydin, rector of the Istanbul medical school. 

Develop medical tourism

Turkish hospitals also have greater latitude in the choice of treatment. "We have a choice, as long as it meets the recommendations of the Ministry of Health. There are several possible treatments, including hydroxychloroquine with good results," said Professor Nuri Aydin.

As this doctor explains, this hospital wants to capitalize on these good results against the coronavirus by becoming more involved in medical tourism and by developing online consultations for example: "I believe that in the future, most of our consultations will be virtual. You can go to the website, make the payment and you will be online with one of our doctors, a professor from one of the most famous hospitals in Turkey. "

Turkey is one of the OECD countries which has invested the most in recent years in the health sector, a commitment which is not without economic ulterior motives. Medical tourism generated nearly 1.5 billion euros in 2018.

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