Turkey builds hospital mega-complex
07-Nov-14, CNN
On a wet day in Turkey's bustling capital, Ankara, healthcare workers busily go about their daily tasks. A temperature is taken here, a patient is wheeled into an operation room there while hospital doctors shuffle along their rounds.Turkey's population is over 74 million and growing. Every citizen, whether young or old, will need medical care at some point in their lives.
The need to upgrade and build new facilities to meet growing demand is hence very real - a fact not lost on the country's leaders. The Turkish government initiated a health transformation program in 2003 financed by both private and public funds.
There are currently 36 medical facilities under development with the giant Bilkent Integrated Healthcare Campus in Ankara earmarked as the flagship project -- a site for science and knowledge. On completion, it will be one of the largest hospital complexes in the world, housing 1,300 doctors and double that number of nurses.