Health workers working in the radiology departments of hospitals told the Milli Gazete about their grievances. Radiology staff noted that although they have problems waiting to be solved, their problems are multiplied by the new regulations. Stating that a radiology worker in Turkey deals with three times as many patients compared to European and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the employees said, “The number of patients per x-ray technician in Turkey is 10,563. This number is 3,048 in England. 3,330 in the Netherlands. 2,711 in Germany and 2,857 in France. While a radiology technician in Europe and OECD countries averages 20-25 patients during working hours and an average of 50-60 exposures, a technician in our country has an average of 75-80 patients during working hours and an average of 250 shots,” and called for increasing employment.
“OUR RIGHTS OF HOLIDAY WANTED TO BE SEIZED”
‘Health Provided by Using Ionizing Radiation and Radionuclide’, which entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette dated April 26, 2022 and numbered 31821. Expressing that the Regulation on Services is an invitation to increase their grievances, radiology workers stated that their health holidays, which are 30 days a year, are usurped with this regulation. Stating that they are exposed to intense radiation due to the area they work in and that they may face serious health problems, the employees demanded that the regulation to be canceled and their holidays protected.
“OUR HEALTH CHECKS ARE NOT PERFORMED”
Radiology workers, who also stated that although there is a law regarding the need for health checks to be done twice a year, this is not followed in practice, “In many health institutions, health checks are carried out once a year or not at all. In addition, in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 15 of the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, deductions are made from the employees despite the statement ‘The cost arising from health surveillance and all kinds of additional costs arising from this surveillance are provided by the employer and cannot be reflected to the employee,” radiology workers added.