"Gambling for our lives" "Law of Afula as law of Tel Aviv", "Ministry of Health take responsibility" and "Health is a basic right" - these are some of the protest calls written on the signs carried last night by dozens of protesters in the Independence Square in Afula against neglect, discrimination and discrimination Of Haemek Hospital in Afula, which serves about one million Israelis in the valleys and the Galilee.
This is the second time such a demonstration has taken place against the ongoing damage to a public hospital, and the allegations in the demonstration were directed at Clalit, the owner of the hospital which is one of the oldest in Israel, and against the Ministry of Health, which is responsible by law for all medical services.
Once again, the main demand of the demonstrators was to fulfill the solemn public promise made about a year ago by Clalit CEO Prof. Ehud Davidson - a promise that the new fund's CEO, Ruth Ralbag, returned from and said she could not exist - to turn the Valley Hospital into a hospital Where there are all the medical services for the sick and injured, such as the Rambam hospitals in Haifa or Soroka in Be'er Sheva.
Haemek Medical Center, Photo: Gil Eliyahu / Ginny
It was also promised to stop the decades-long neglect of the hospital, for example in the intensive care unit with the worst hospitalization conditions in the country, to immediately allocate and budget medical and nursing staff, and to establish new wards to improve the difficult hospitalization conditions.
Among the protesters were department heads at the hospital;
MK Ram Ben Barak (Labor), resident of Nahalal and chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee;
MK Naama Lazimi (Labor), a native of Migdal Haemek and a resident of Haifa; residents of Afula, as well as kibbutzim and moshavim in the Jezreel Valley. The wall they have been leading for the past two months against the neglect of the hospital in Afula.
Risk to human life
The demonstration took place following the ongoing exposure in "Israel Today" regarding the struggle of the department heads of the Valley Hospital and the heads of the local authorities in the valleys and the Galilee, and unprecedented allegations of ongoing discrimination and neglect of the hospital. Extreme congestion, complaints about lung examinations performed in a way that endangers patients, severe complaints from doctors that corona patients in critical condition died due to lack of treatment, complaints from patients with rare and life-threatening blood diseases and the two senior doctors treating them, who complained of extreme medical staff shortages and conditions Inadequate treatment, and information that a new breast surgery unit has been set up without being budgeted and without proper medical staff and hospital beds.
"For Equal Medicine"
MK Naama Lazimi (Labor), who was born at Emek Hospital herself, said in a demonstration that "the lives of the residents of the periphery are not in vain. When we meet all the problems of the system in one place, such as lack of budget "To abuse those who are flooding the problems, we need to shoot them and help them, because they are fulfilling the role expected of them - saving lives."
Dr. Boaz Bloch, Chairman of the Hospital's Physicians' Committee, said at the demonstration that "the hospital has excellent professional staffs, who work day and night with great heart and soul. Given by the CEO of Clalit Health Fund.
She was born in the hospital herself.
MK Naama Lazimi, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Limor Regev, a resident of Nahalal and one of the leaders in the public struggle for the Valley Hospital, said: "We are here because of the discrimination, neglect and discrimination, and we, the million customers treated at the Valley, are not willing to settle for what the state gives us.
We are here to fight for the obvious - our health and life.
We demand, as we have been promised, that the 'Valley' be turned into a hospital that will provide all services in a routine and emergency manner, and are no longer willing to accept promises without coverage.
It's time to promise and keep.
"I call on Clalit Health Fund to compare the conditions in the 'valley' with those in the hospitals in the center of the country, and on the Ministry of Health to budget the hospital. A strong medical center is a cornerstone of health security and regional pride, and I am convinced it is the hope of an entire country."
Limor Regev speaks at a demonstration in May, Photo: Eyal Margolin / Ginny
Meanwhile, 3,620 Israelis signed the petition against the neglect of the hospital, which is addressed to Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and the management of Clalit Health Fund, which reads: "We are fed up with promises. We are anxious for our health. "You have the right to harm our health. You have no right to harm our health, and it is a fundamental right of each and every one of us to take for granted: a proper hospital, with the best capabilities to address any problem and health need."
Clalit Health Fund and Haemek Hospital responded: "The Haemek Medical Center is experiencing an unprecedented development momentum. Thanks to this development momentum, patients who were previously referred to other centers are now receiving quality medical care in the Haemek."
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