Medipol Pendik University Hospital

Medipol Pendik opened in 2019 as one of Istanbul Medipol University's Health Practice and Research Centres, on the far Asian side of the city. It operates 97 inpatient beds and 26 intensive care units across 19 medical branches, with a staff of around 480 and services delivered in six languages.

Its real advantage for international patients is arrival logistics. Pendik is the closest Medipol campus to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport — the MR60 airport bus stops 140 metres from the entrance. Patients flying into Istanbul Airport on the European side can take the metrobüs to Mecidiyeköy and the 251 bus to Pendik, and the Marmaray line stops 650 metres away, connecting the hospital directly to Yenikapı and the historic peninsula.

For a patient arriving with luggage after a long flight, this matters more than it might appear. Most Istanbul hospitals require a taxi transfer of an hour or more from the arrival airport; here the walk from the bus stop is shorter than the walk through most terminals.

The hospital runs 24 hours a day with intensive care units, advanced operating theatres, an on-site laboratory, emergency department and treatment-equipped patient rooms. A cafe, prayer room and hairdresser inside the building serve patients and the family members staying with them — a practical consideration for companions during a multi-day stay.