Selected nurses from across the country will receive advanced training on healthcare in Turkey, announced Turkish ambassador to Bangladesh Huseyin Muftuoglu at a programme in the capital on Tuesday.
Preparing for the move, he said the Health Minister had consented to at least 5-10 Turkish nurses visiting Bangladesh to observe the service provided in healthcare here.
“Afterwards a number of nurses from Bangladesh will go to Turkey to receive an advanced training. Those trained nurses would then return to Bangladesh and pass on the training to other nurses here,” he said.
Huseyin Muftuoglu was addressing a programme organised on Tuesday for donating an ICU ambulance to the Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital and Research Institute.
“Turkish government has taken up this project to donate one ambulance to each of the chosen middle income and under-developed countries. However, Bangladesh is the only country to receive two ambulances. The next one would be donated to the Siraj-Khaleda Memorial Hospital in cantonment,” he added.
The ambulance was given as a part of EXPO-2020 where the theme set for the Turkish city of Izmir is “Health for All.”
Professor Dr MA Rashid, chief executive officer of Ibrahim Cardiac hospital said: “The ambulance will be used for transporting critically ill patients.”
“We have divided the capital into five zones: Gulshan, Baridhara, Mirpur, Uttara and Jatrabari. Ambulances of our hospital are parked on alert in each of the zones so that it can reach the patients and take them to the nearest hospital, avoiding traffic jams,” said Dr Rashid.
“When a cardiac attack occurs, the first few hours are crucial for the patient’s survival. After a cardiac attack, a patient can be taken to the nearest hospital though these ambulances and lives could be saved,” he added.
The Ambassador said: “Two years ago, my father died of a cardiac attack. I consider health as one of the humanitarian sectors that is free from politics. Saving the life of one Bangladeshi means a lot to the Turkish people.”
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruq Khan said: “We have been doing friendly business with Turkey and donation of the ambulances is one of the examples.”
