Action Line #100503 -Clinic Shut Down

  • Published
  • By 39th Air Base Wing
  • Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Complaint:

I'm writing to highlight a serious concern I have with the clinic that shut down for 3 days (24-27 May) for a base exercise. I understand the importance of exercising in order to perform our wartime mission, however, exercises should never take priority over our real-world mission, which is ongoing right now. May 24, I called the clinic's appointment line at 0730 only to be told that I can't make an appointment or even walk-in to be seen by a provider. This concerns me because I know my child is not the only member of the Incirlik community that needs care but is being turned away. In our case, my child has had several ear infections in his short life. He's only 15 months old and any ear infections, left untreated, at this age can cause serious ear damage and possibly hearing loss.
 
Recommendation:

Option 1. Never shut off all appointments for care. Always leave a sufficient number of providers available to handle non-routine appointments. If you think you don't have enough manning to staff the clinic and exercise, I recommend de-conflicting the exercise schedule with the normal operating hours of the clinic. What's wrong with exercising on the weekend or on USAFE family days so the clinic can provide much needed care for the community?

Option 2. Make Incirlik an unaccompanied tour, period. Newborns and infants cannot be denied care. This is a serious risk for the member, the USAF, and any leadership that approves such policy.

Response:

For this exercise, Medical Group leadership put into place a process to provide timely alternatives and assured access to care for folks needing assistance during the times we were not able to be open for this exercise series. Unfortunately, unauthorized and uncoordinated changes to the plan were made which caused you to not be able to receive the assistance you requested. The Medical Group apologizes for this mistake and your inconvenience.

The Medical Group will however, continue to participate in local and Wing level exercises and will from time to time either be completely closed for direct care or request patients share in the exercise scenario by experiencing some delays in accessing care. Though inconvenient and annoying, the greater good is served by everyone's sacrifice. It is thru regular exercising that our medics can practice their disaster response capabilities and develop the teamwork necessary for effective responses with other base agencies such as the fire department, security forces, or emergency management.

The staff of the Medical Group takes great care in assuring emergency care is always available thru 911 and urgent care can be obtained 24/7 by calling 676-6666. And when the indicated care can not wait until the next appointment, our staff coordinates a referral to one of our preferred downtown hospitals such as ACIBADEM. We have an on-going publicity campaign which has been active for the past year to make sure the base population is aware of the 676-6666 option.