In a letter sent by Prof. Rothstein to the director general of the Ministry of Health, it was also stated that starting on Thursday, no more dialysis treatments will be given to patients in a critical condition • "This is an emergency situation"
The crisis in public hospitals: The
director general of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, Prof. Zeev Rothstein, announced today (Sunday) that he will not be able to provide medical food to about 80 patients within a week and a half, including Corona intensive care patients, "for all that that implies" .
Demonstrators protest in hospitals over budget discrimination, last week // Photo: Yoni Rickner
He further announced that as of Thursday, no more dialysis treatments will be given to critically ill patients.
This is due to the non-approval of the supply of medical food and consumable equipment for dialysis.
"Even today we continue to receive notifications from various suppliers regarding non-approval of supplies to the hospital. Promedico, which provides us, among other things, with formulas for feeding through a tube, has announced that it will not provide us with the variety of formulas it has provided us so far," wrote Prof. Rothstein. To the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy.
"The announcement means that in about a week and a half we will not be able to feed dozens of patients, including Corona intensive care patients, for all that that implies," he added.
"This is a real emergency, which requires your immediate treatment. As I wrote to you yesterday, the option at hand is to provide a state guarantee to Promedico, as well as other suppliers of Hadassah, thus allowing their continued supply. I would appreciate your urgent guidance."
The hospital's director general's announcement comes just two days after the other six public hospitals (Shaare Zedek, Laniado, Maayan Hayeshua and the three hospitals in Nazareth) announced that they would not accept Magen David Adom ambulances, except in life-saving cases.
For more than a week now, public hospitals have been waging a struggle in which they demand equality in budgeting vis-à-vis government hospitals and those owned by the health funds.
Public hospitals claim they are unable to pay salaries and pay suppliers for equipment and medicines.
A senior health ministry official said this morning: "The treasury should pay them in advance. If Hadassah cannot order medicines and equipment, it is a real crisis. We are very concerned that the crisis in the hospitals will make it difficult to treat patients and Corona patients."
The Ministry of Finance has proposed to the hospitals advance payments of hundreds of millions of shekels at the expense of the support budgets of 2021, and also proposed to transfer additional amounts that will be used to pay salaries.
But according to a source in the Treasury, the hospitals are not only interested in salary money, but are seeking to pass substantial structural changes in the way the hospitals operate during the election period.
"It is an exploitation of the corona crisis to get budgets for years to come and correct a distortion that has been going on for decades. It is unreasonable in my view. It is impossible to bend the government now, in a plague.