Well being Ministry Director Common Moshe Bar Siman-Tov on Sunday urged the Israel Medical Affiliation to name off a protest at public hospitals and clinics deliberate for the following day, warning it could hurt sufferers.
In a letter dispatched to the affiliation’s chairman Zion Hagay, Bar Siman-Tov mentioned he didn’t dispute “the necessity for an expression of protest” over current violence directed at medical workers however warned that “the deliberate steps will damage sufferers and their day by day routine.”
“Like your self, Well being Ministry officers and I are following current occasions with nice concern and consider with nice severity any report of violence within the well being system. This phenomenon gravely hurts the system and its workers and needs to be approached with a zero-tolerance coverage,” he wrote within the letter, which was printed by Channel 12 information.
Bar Siman-Tov mentioned he would ship a letter to all ministry workers summarizing among the steps already taken to deal with the violence and the strikes the ministry plans to absorb the close to future to stamp it out fully.
He added that he would tour Soroka Medical Middle in Beersheba — the location of a current violent incident directed at medical workers — on Tuesday and invited Hagay to affix him.
“It’s clear that there’s nonetheless a lot to be finished,” he mentioned, stressing he was “decided” to make use of all means at his disposal to ensure a protected well being system for sufferers and workers alike.
Zion Hagay (Screenshot from YouTube; utilized in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Legislation)
He urged Hagay to rethink the strike. “Contemplating our readiness to behave on the problem, I’ll ask you to keep away from mentioned steps,” Bar Siman-Tov mentioned.
He additionally voiced help within the letter for docs and nurses coping with violent outbursts from sufferers each day.
“We’re going by way of a posh and harmful time the place violence directed at medical workers has change into a day by day prevalence,” he mentioned. “The Well being Ministry’s administration stands beside you in coping with this unacceptable phenomenon.”
The deliberate strike, introduced by the docs union on Thursday, comes after a number of current violent incidents in Israeli hospitals.
Most just lately, police arrested a 17-year-old affected person at a ladies’s well being heart in Ramle final week who was suspected of attacking a health care provider with brass knuckles and kicking him within the head. The physician required medical remedy at a close-by hospital.
A day earlier, a two-hour stoppage at Soroka Medical Middle was known as after a pediatrician was bodily assaulted by the mother and father of a 15-month-old boy who was being handled on the hospital.
Saying the final strike, the Israel Medical Affiliation mentioned hospitals and clinics will function on a weekend schedule for all of Monday, providing lowered providers. The affiliation will function a committee to determine on particular particular person instances.
A screenshot taken from a video displaying mother and father of a toddler assault a health care provider at Soroka Medical Middle in Beersheba over his refusal to expedite remedy for his or her son, January 16, 2023. (Twitter/Screenshot: utilized in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Legislation)
Circumstances of violence in opposition to medical workers aren’t unusual. Final June, the physician’s union introduced a two-day strike to protest violence in opposition to medics and the state’s alleged failure to implement a plan to fight such incidents.
Final Might, the Finance Ministry authorised a price range for hiring law enforcement officials to be stationed at 28 hospitals throughout the nation, following mounting violence in opposition to medical workers.
