Politics · Turkey · 17 hrs ago
Turkey’s social services minister calls for stricter care facility inspections
Turkey’s social services minister called for stricter inspections of facilities that care for children, older people and people with disabilities.
Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş gave the instruction at a meeting in Ankara with directors from all 81 provinces.
She said officials should check facilities carefully and increase unannounced inspections, looking beyond what staff choose to show them.
Her advice included checking kitchens, food stores and residents’ rooms, and speaking directly with the people who live there.
The ministry is also visiting households considered at high risk of violence against women or children being drawn into crime; 69.94% of planned visits were complete at the time of her statement.
Officials should use information from those visits to connect families with support, track results and revisit high-risk households after three months.
The ministry’s next steps include completing the visits and ensuring local authorities address problems or report unresolved issues to the ministry.
Turkey’s social services minister called for stricter inspections of facilities caring for children, older people and people with disabilities.
Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş asked provincial directors not to overlook even the smallest sign of neglect.
She urged directors to make unannounced inspections more frequent and to check areas such as kitchens, bedrooms, basements and storage rooms.
Göktaş made the call at an annual assessment meeting with the ministry’s provincial directors in Ankara.
She also said visits to high-risk households had been carried out across Turkey since April.
- Who
- Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş called on the ministry’s provincial directors to act.
- What
- She urged stricter inspections of care facilities for children, older people and people with disabilities, including more unannounced visits.
- When
- At an annual assessment meeting reported on October 24, 2026.
- Where
- Ankara, Turkey.
- Why
- She said the facilities are homes for people entrusted to the state’s care and that even the smallest neglect should not be missed.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The ministry has been visiting high-risk households in all 81 provinces, according to Göktaş.
Göktaş met the ministry’s 81 provincial directors in Ankara and called for stricter care facility inspections.
The ministry had completed 69.94% of household visits across Turkey.
- Minister
- Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş
- Meeting location
- Ankara
- Provincial directors
- 81
- Household visits completed
- 69.94% of visits across Turkey
- Care facility residents
- Children, older people and people with disabilities
1 source
What people are saying
I expect you not to overlook even the smallest neglect.
When you go to a facility, go into the kitchen, open the refrigerator. Go down to the basement, look in the pantry, see the storage room.
Real inspection means looking not at what is shown, but at what needs to be seen.