Pregnant woman dies as no medical specialist left at hospital in Turkey's southeast

An eight-month pregnant woman has died after no doctors could be found at a hospital in the Cizre district of the southeastern province of Şırnak.

Peyruze Pulat, 31, who was hospitalized due to suffering from severe aches, died at the Cizre State Hospital after an hour in intensive care, Doğan News Agency reported on Aug. 28. 

All gynecologists at the hospital were determined to have left the hospital over the past month, with four resigning, one reassigned to another hospital, and another on leave for the Eid al-Adha holiday.  

Pulat's husband Hüsnü Pulat has said his wife and unborn child died due to neglect and filed a complaint at the Şırnak Public Prosecutor's Office. 

"My wife died in pain right before our eyes. They initially told me that my wife's heart had failed and they couldn't save the baby. When I went to Şırnak for the autopsy, I explained the events that unfolded to the public prosecutor and filed a complaint. I lost my wife and my baby and I want all those responsible of this to be punished," Pulat said. 

He added that when they went to the Cizre State Hospital, the doctors called other hospitals in different districts to find a gynecologist but were unable to find one and therefore made his wife wait in the intensive care unit. 

Cizre was badly hit by fighting between the Turkish security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after the collapse of a fragile peace process in 2015.

Officials, whose names were not disclosed, said there was one gynecologist in the Silopi district and another one in central Şırnak. They said pregnant patients in Cizre are usually sent to Silopi. 

They also told the Doğan News Agency that the Health Ministry was notified about the...