Doctors begin the White Walk

Sibel Bahçetepe

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) will launch the ‘White Walk’ following a press statement to be made today in Diyarbakır's Dağkapı Square to draw attention to the increasing workload, low wages and insecure working conditions of healthcare workers.

During the four-day walk, doctors will stop in Urfa, Antep, Osmaniye and Adana to meet with colleagues and bring the problems in the healthcare system to local agenda. Healthcare workers will once again voice their demand for public, equal and quality healthcare services, emphasising that ‘‘another healthcare system is possible’’. The White Walk will end in Ankara on 14 March 2026. With the participation of medical chambers from different provinces of Turkey, the doctors will first visit Anıtkabir, then gather in front of Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine at 13:00 and walk to Abdi Ipekçi Park to make a statement.

HEALTH HAS BECOME A COMMODITY

Alpay Azap, President of the TTB Central Council, drew attention to historical significance of 14 March in a statement to BirGün, reminding doctors of their responsibility to society. Azap stated that the Health Transformation Programme, which has been implemented in Turkey for years, has distanced healthcare from being a public right, adding: “This programme imposed by the World Bank has transformed healthcare from a fundamental right that the state should provide into a commodity to be bought and sold. The healthcare system has been designed not as a public service that improves the health of society, but as a profit centre for capital.”

Emphasising that preventive healthcare services have been pushed into the background, Azap stated that the majority of the central budget allocated to healthcare is spent on treatment services. He stated that public healthcare institutions are managed according to business logic through subcontracting practices and public-private partnership models. Azap explained that the policies implemented have also had severe impact on public health. Stating that preventable diseases have increased with weakening of preventive health services, Azap said that the reappearance of measles cases in Turkey and some infant deaths illustrate this situation. Azap stated that increasing workload, low wages and insecure working conditions have brought doctors to point of exhaustion, adding, ‘‘Doctors continue to work for public’s health while upholding their professional values, but the current system is irresponsibly wasting trained human resources.’’

HEALTH CANNOT BE ACHIEVED IN 5 MINUTES

The TTB will draw attention to the shortening of consultation times during this year’s 14 March events. Doctors marching under the slogan ‘‘You can’t provide healthcare in 5 minutes’’ said that consultation times have fallen to as little as 5 minutes in many specialities due to increasing number of appointments in the Central Doctor Appointment System. Azap noted that these durations do not allow for the necessary medical history and physical examination for accurate diagnosis and treatment, adding:

‘‘Insufficient consultation times prevent patients from being properly assessed. There is no time left to inform the patient. This situation leads to burnout among doctors and strains the doctor-patient relationship. According to scientific opinions, the ideal examination time should be between 15 and 25 minutes.’’

THEY WILL GATHER IN FRONT OF THE MINISTRY

Family doctors will gather in front of the Ministry of Health at 11:00 a.m. on 14 March, Doctors’ Day. The doctors will say, ‘‘We will fight together until violence in healthcare and torment in family medicine come to an end.’’

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Hekimler ‘Beyaz Yürüyüş’e başlıyor, published in BirGün newspaper on March 11, 2026.