Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency:  Newsflash

This baby girl has died after waiting eight hours for an intensive care bed as COVID-19 cases spiral out of control in Turkey.

The latest surge has seen 30,000 new infections a day with nearly 200 deaths, pushing the health service to breaking point.

Little Sakine Akdag was just 18 months old when she caught the virus, and was repeatedly taken to hospital in the south-eastern Turkish city of Batman by her worried parents.

In her final trip to the hospital, she had to wait eight hours to get a bed in the intensive care ward at Batman Maternity and Children’s Hospital, and she died on 28th November.

Sakine first fell ill six days earlier when she was taken to the same hospital by her parents. The family was told that the child had fever and was sent home after being given medicine.

However, the medicine made little difference and she was taken to hospital again where she was later sent back home. She went back to hospital for a third time on the morning of 25th November.

After undergoing a PCR test, the toddler tested positive for COVID-19 and doctors confirmed that she needed urgent attention.

Sakine was taken to the intensive care unit and treated immediately as she also suffered from epilepsy, but the family said they were told there were no empty beds in the intensive care unit.

Sakine’s aunt Safiye Akdag said they eventually got a bed at the Ozel Dunya Hospital after another COVID-19 patient died.

She said: “We searched all the hospitals in the region for an intensive care bed, but unfortunately there was none. One of the worst aspects of this situation is that you are waiting for another patient to recover or die before your loved one can be treated.”

Meanwhile, the hospital has rejected the family’s account of the incident while declining to elaborate more on what happened.

The Akdag family has confirmed that they are preparing a lawsuit against the hospital and the Provincial Health Directorate.

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