Turkey puts ailing private hospitals for sale
- Source: Xinhua
- [08:34 August 24 2009]
- Comments
The global economic crisis may have done a final blow to Turkey's private hospitals, which were already struggling with unchecked development and government regulations, according to local Daily News here on Saturday.
The report said that 20 hospitals belonging to the Private Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations Association, or OHSAD, have been put up for sale.
A nonprofit hospital operated by the Turkish Religious Foundation in Ankara's Dikmen district is among those medical institutes which are seeking buyers.
Isvicre Hastanesi, a hospital belonging to Kazim Tas in Istanbul's Icerenkoy district, was recently purchased by the Turkish healthcare group Bayindir Saglik Grubu.
The uncertainty for the future of health care sector had a negative impact on investors, said OHSAD Chairman Resat Bahat, who added that it had led to a total of 20 healthcare institutions being put up for sale.
According to Bahat, observers should not be fooled by the number of newly opened hospitals. "The investment plans for the recently opened hospitals were made years ago. Therefore, they cannot be canceled," he said.
"The accumulation of uncertainty, together with the economic instability, is having a very negative impact on the health care sector. Many investors are trying to sell their hospitals. There are a lot of hospital closures, especially in large cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir," Bahat said, adding that many of those hospitals were being sold below their real values.
There are 820 public and 420 private hospitals operating in Turkey. Private hospitals constitute a sector worth 10 billion Turkish Liras (6.89 billion US dollars).
Starting to offer services for patients under the umbrella of the Social Security Institution, or SGK, through revised health policies in 2006, private hospitals have increased their share in health services from eight percent in 2003 to 30 percent now.
Some hospitals have created chains while investors outside the sector have also stepped in to get a share of the newly developing health care sector.
Complaining about the lack of proper structure in the growth of private hospitals, Bahat said, "the swift growth was realized without proper planning. The increasing number of hospitals became disturbing to sector players."
The private health sector, with debts totaling 3 billion US dollars, is facing a tough time due to the instability in the exchange rate, the market contraction and high interest rates.
