Turkey is reeling from the alarming news of a criminal network, dubbed the “newborn gang,” accused of causing the deaths of multiple infants.
An indictment from an Istanbul prosecutor reveals that healthcare workers in both state and private hospitals allegedly collaborated with the gang to transfer newborns to intensive care units in private hospitals. This scheme aimed to extort money from the government and distressed parents, even when state hospitals had available resources or the infants did not need intensive care. The gang reportedly received large sums from the Turkish Social Security Institution (SGK) and families for these transfers. To further their scheme, the network is said to have bribed employees at emergency call centers to provide false diagnoses that justified moving children to private facilities. Keeping a child in intensive care reportedly earned the gang around £180 a day. Tragically, neglect and poor care in these facilities led to several infant deaths.
The police launched an investigation last year after an anonymous tip claimed the gang was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of babies. So far, the indictment has identified ten suspicious fatalities linked to the network.
“It has shaken us all,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Tuesday, noting that one hospital has closed and nine others had their licenses revoked. Among the 47 suspects, 22 have been arrested, including a lawyer who allegedly threatened the prosecutor on the case. This threat was recorded by hidden cameras. President Erdogan vowed to ensure that the “criminals who play with the lives of innocent babies will never see the light of day again.”
Critics, including human rights activist Sebnem Korur Fincanci, assert that the Turkish government shares the blame. “The current government bears full responsibility,” she said, emphasizing that authorities received the tip-off 18 months ago but failed to act. Fincanci pointed out that there is a unit dedicated to investigating infant deaths, which should have detected the issue even before the tip-off.
Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu defended the lengthy investigation, stating, “If you are going to carry out justice, you must have concrete evidence,” in an interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Opposition politicians across the spectrum have called for Memisoglu’s resignation. In response, President Erdogan accused them of “playing politics over the funerals of innocent babies and the pain of their families.” Since the early 2000s, Erdogan’s government has aggressively promoted privatization in healthcare, leading to the rapid growth of private hospitals. In Istanbul alone, there are 234 hospitals, with 164 being private.
While the increase in private facilities has reduced waiting times in an overwhelmed healthcare system, it has also raised concerns. Critics argue that profit-driven private hospitals, lacking adequate government oversight, may encourage unnecessary medical interventions, especially during childbirth.
When the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, the C-section rate in Turkey was about 30%, comparable to the current rate in the United Kingdom. Today, however, the rate has soared to around 60%, one of the highest in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) deems an acceptable rate to be between 10% and 15%. Recently, the Health Ministry began addressing the issue, launching a campaign video titled “Mummy, we made it,” promoting natural births over C-sections.
The surge in private hospitals also caters to medical tourists, drawn by low-cost procedures like dental work and plastic surgery. However, the lack of regulation has led to severe risks; the UK Foreign Office reported that at least six British nationals died in 2023 after undergoing medical procedures in Turkey.
As public trust in healthcare professionals continues to erode, violent attacks against medical workers are becoming more common. The Turkish Medical Association reported an average of 50 incidents of violence against healthcare workers each day in 2023.
Fincanci warned that the newborn gang incident is likely to exacerbate this violence. “Polarization has reached unbelievable levels. Issues like this in the healthcare sector undermine trust between patients and doctors,” she said.
Concerns are also growing that the newborn baby gang is not the only troubling network in Turkey’s healthcare system. Since this case emerged, there have been allegations of a similar group profiting from moving elderly patients to dialysis units. The newborn gang scandal may just be the tip of the iceberg.
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