25.10.2026 10:20
The relocation of Şehit Yarbay İlker Çelikcan Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital, which is stated to have been serving in Bursa for 102 years, to the newly opened Ali Osman Sönmez State Hospital drew a reaction. Ferit Gürsoy, Chairman of the Bursa Bizim Platform, claimed that the 150-bed hospital would serve with 60 beds at its new location. Gürsoy called for the hospital to be reinforced in place or moved to the idle BAREM building.
There was a public reaction to the decision to relocate the hospital in Bursa that provides physical therapy services to patients left disabled after paralysis, stroke, and accidents. Bursa residents, arguing that capacity will decrease, asked the Ministry of Health to reconsider the decision.
IT IS KNOWN FOR ITS THERMAL SPRING DATING FROM THE BYZANTINE PERIOD
It is stated that more than a thousand people receive outpatient treatment every day at the hospital, known for its 723-year-old thermal spring and historical structure dating from the Byzantine period. The hospital, which served as a military hospital before July 15, has been providing physical therapy and rehabilitation services to citizens, especially Group A paralyzed patients, for more than 10 years.
“CAPACITY WILL DROP TO ONE THIRD” CLAIM
Speaking on behalf of Bursa residents, Ferit Gürsoy, President of the Bursa Bizim Platform, described the relocation of the hospital as part of the new hospital as a “great loss.” Gürsoy claimed that they learned the 150-bed capacity would drop to one third, and the daily outpatient examination and treatment service, which reaches 1,500, would drop to one fifth.
Gürsoy said, “More than a thousand people receive service in this hospital every day, especially the families of martyrs and veterans. Expert personnel offer specialized services such as neurological and orthopedic rehabilitation, especially for Group A paralyzed patients, as well as lymphedema, scoliosis, hand rehabilitation, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and robotic rehabilitation. This is a very well-known and recognized classic hospital in the Marmara Region.”
“THERE IS A STRENGTHENING PROJECT APPROVED BY THE MONUMENTS BOARD”
Gürsoy, noting that the hospital is wanted to be relocated on the grounds that it is not earthquake-resistant, continued as follows:
“There is a strengthening project that also received approval from the Monuments Board in the past. This project also includes that this strengthening work can be carried out without completely evacuating the hospital. In addition, if strengthening is not possible, it would also be possible to move this hospital to BAREM, which was built with similar services and is currently idle, and to provide more comprehensive services there. Various exchange alternatives could be implemented through a protocol to be made between Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and the Health Directorate.”
“WILL INCREASE THE APPETITE OF PRIVATE HOSPITALS”
Arguing that physical therapy appointments, which are already problematic, will be further disrupted by the decrease in capacity, Gürsoy asked, “Will our state leave our paralyzed patients and patients in need of physical therapy to the mercy of private hospitals? Currently, Bursa residents can get an appointment even for physical therapy services only 3-4 months later. With the decrease in capacity at the new hospital, getting an appointment and inpatient service will become almost impossible. In this situation, it will whet the appetite of private hospitals in the region.”
Gürsoy said, “Citizens will have to receive physical therapy and rehabilitation services from private hospitals at high costs. Our citizens with medium and low income levels, unable to access private hospitals at these prices, will not be able to benefit from healthcare, which is their most natural right.”
CALL TO HEALTH MINISTER MEMİŞOĞLU
Gürsoy, asking Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Kemal Memişoğlu to review the decision again, noted the following:
“We request that the Care and Rehabilitation Center (BAREM) building, currently under Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, be evaluated as an alternative service campus within the scope of preserving the independent hospital status, current service capacity, and specialized rehabilitation units of İlker Çelikcan Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital. It is stated that the physical conditions of the facility are suitable for continuing the current hospital’s services without narrowing them, and we believe that, through a protocol that can be made between relevant public institutions and necessary technical evaluations, the hospital’s continuing its current services while preserving its institutional integrity is valuable for ensuring that rehabilitation services in Bursa province and its surroundings are not disrupted.”
CALL FROM A PATIENT TO EMİNE ERDOĞAN
Şükran Alagöz (74), who stated that she regained her health thanks to the treatment she received at the hospital, also called on Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Alagöz said, “We are very pleased with our current hospital. We know that Ms. Emine closely cares about the elderly and the families of martyrs and veterans. It would victimize the people of Bursa for İlker Çelikcan Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital, which previously served as a military hospital and now serves both soldiers and their families as well as the poor and destitute, to provide services in a small part of the new hospital.”
Drawing attention to the aging population and the increasing need for physical therapy, Alagöz used the following statements: “Moving the experienced doctors and healthcare personnel at this hospital to the currently idle BAREM would be the most correct decision. Afterwards, if this building is rebuilt in accordance with its original form and strengthened, the services that have been a means for prayers at the military hospital in Çekirge, a symbol of Bursa, can continue.”