Preparation for the second wave at its peak, but only about 5 percent of the ventilators ordered - have already arrived in Israel • Ministry of Health: "Frequent cancellations and low supply reliability"

• Kaplan hospital ventilator

  Photo: 

  Liron Moldovan

First publication: The Ministry of Defense has ordered more than 15,000 respirators in recent months, but only 707, about 5% of them, actually came from the beginning of the Corona crisis. Also, in the last two and a half months, 2,299 respirators have been added to Israel - and a total of 5,372 devices. This was revealed in a report by the Knesset Research and Information Center prepared at the request of the Corona Commission chaired by MK Yifat Shasha Biton.

According to the Ministry of Health, another 3,203 respirators are expected in June; In July about 3,500; And in August - 1,749. However, according to the Ministry of Health, "there are frequent cancellations and supply reliability is very low."

One of the scenarios to which the Ministry of Health was dealing was treating 5,000 people at the peak of the Corona's illness, with the Prime Minister instructed to prepare and order 7,000 machines. So how many are in the country? At the end of March, the number of respirators was 2,173 and another 900 machines in the IDF. Currently, there are 4,373 machines and another thousand respirators in the IDF, totaling 5,372 devices.

Of the respirators - 400 are in emergency shelters and 272 are under test before being put into use. About 69% of the respirators - 3,700 in number - are in the 29 general hospitals.

The Ministry of Health has not provided the Knesset Research and Information Center with some of the ventilators intended for invasive breathing, some for non-invasive breathing (support and respiratory assistance), and some mobile devices. Also, some devices are not intended for children, but the firm's data set indicates that about a quarter (26%) of Israel's respirators are for children and the rest for adults.

Corona patients have so far been invasive respirators. The data shows that the number of corona patients is much lower: out of the 3,700 hospital respirators, only about 2,900 are invasive respirators.

As of the writing of the report, 24% (about 700) are in use and about 1.6% (46 devices) are out of order. As of early June, only 1,749 invasive respirators were available.

At the height of the Corona epidemic, there were 137 respiratory coronary patients in the hospitals, and yesterday there were 25 respirators. The Ministry of Health figures show that the number of respirators in emergency shelters at the beginning of the crisis was 406 machines, of which 365 were invasive respirators (about 90%), 40 mobile respirators (about 9%) and one respirator for premature babies. The ministry said all respirators were distributed to hospitals, with the exception of a reserve of 20 machines. It has also been reported that there are about 6,300 monitors for operating the machines.

35 ECMO devices

However, the Research and Information Center did not provide accurate data on the lack of monitors or whether they were all suitable for use in respirators.

The "last line" for respiratory patients whose condition continues to deteriorate is the use of an ECMO device that replaces heart and lung activity. For some patients, this is life-saving treatment.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, there are 35 ECMOs in 11 hospitals in Israel, and 18 hospitals do not have one. The Ministry of Health has purchased 30 additional devices, of which only five have come to date.

"The ability to perform the soul is essential and critical in the fight for the recovery of the virus," explains Corona committee chairman MK Yifat Shasha Biton. "We need to make sure that the health system can carry the burden of breathing in the event of an increase in infection and the number of patients."

Shasha Biton added that "Today I will hold a debate on the health system's preparations for a second wave and recurring outbreaks."

The chairman of the Corona Committee concluded: "We must ensure that we are prepared and equipped with complex scenarios, and at the same time do everything to avoid them - the more the public is attentive to and adheres to the guidelines, this will help us to maintain public health and avoid deterioration in the number of patients and patients."