A baby has died after a ceiling collapsed in the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital built in just 45 days by a government-affiliated contractor in 2020, prompting criticism of the facility’s safety and construction standards.
The incident occurred at the Prof. Dr. Murat Dilmener Hospital in İstanbul early Sunday morning when a hot water pipe burst and the ceiling of the neonatal ICU collapsed. Eight newborns were being treated at the time. While all were evacuated, one premature baby later died after being transferred to another department.
Authorities explained that the burst hot water pipe led to the collapse of the ceiling in the corridor of the ICU, causing water to flood the area. Emergency services, including police, fire and medical personnel, were present at the scene. No hospital staff members were injured in the incident.
After the evacuation one of the babies, who was born at 29 weeks and weighed just over two pounds, died. An investigation into the incident has been launched.
The İstanbul Fire Department confirmed the incident on social media, stating, “A ceiling collapsed in the neonatal intensive care unit of the Prof. Dr. Murat Dilmener Hospital due to a burst hot water pipe. Eight babies were evacuated by our teams.”
Built by Rönesans Holding, a company with close ties to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the hospital was completed in just 45 days during the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government was proud of the speed of construction, but the recent collapse has raised serious questions about the quality and safety standards of the building.
A nurse who witnessed the incident described the chaos to Turkish media as staff struggled to cope with the emergency. The Health and Social Services Workers Union (SES) issued a statement detailing the inadequate conditions at the hospital and the challenges faced by staff and patients.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP Mustafa Adıgüzel also criticized the hospital’s construction and the government’s role in the tragedy.
In a television interview Adıgüzel pointed out the longstanding problems with the hospital’s infrastructure.
“The hospital was built hastily and in inadequate physical circumstances at the beginning of the pandemic. It was intended as a field hospital, but it continues to operate as a permanent facility without the appropriate official permits,” Adıgüzel said.
Adıgüzel pointed out that he had submitted a parliamentary question about the hospital’s compliance with building regulations almost four years ago but had not received a response from the Ministry of Health. He accused the ministry and its responsible officials of negligence.
“The authorities who failed to address these issues are responsible for the death of this baby,” Adıgüzel said.
The hospital, named after Prof. Dr. Murat Dilmener, who died of COVID-19, was one of two emergency hospitals built on the site of the former Atatürk Airport in Istanbul during the pandemic. Rönesans Holding, which built the hospital, was a major recipient of public contracts under the AKP government, including major projects such as the presidential palace and various municipal hospitals.
The Turkish healthcare sector has been in the spotlight recently due to allegations of corruption.
CHP MP Gamze Akkuş İlgezdi on Monday brought to light significant allegations of corruption in connection with Çam and Sakura Hospital in İstanbul. She claimed that 15 million lira ($448,000) worth of contrast agents were billed but never received, indicating possible fraud in the healthcare system. İlgezdi emphasized that hospital staff were forced into fraudulent practices, billed the Social Security Institution (SGK) for unused medicines and were subject to retaliation if they reported wrongdoing, exposing systemic problems in the management of the healthcare system and underlining the urgent need for stricter oversight.
Earlier in June allegations emerged about the Mehmet Akif İnan College of Health Sciences Teaching and Research Hospital in southeastern Şanlıurfa province, where an investigation found that medical supplies for angiographies and heart surgeries were fraudulently bought and then sold for profit. Various hospital employees were involved in the fraud, including doctors, technicians and even cleaning staff. The estimated loss amounts to 100 million lira ($2,993,286).