Protest against violence against medical staff: After a resident of Beer Yaakov last Tuesday attacked a doctor at a general clinic in the city with a hammer and caused her serious injury, the doctors and nurses in the country announced a two-day strike that began this morning (Thursday).
The chairman of the Medical Association, Prof. Zion Hagai, said at the end of a meeting held immediately after the attack that "in the past year we have made it unequivocally clear that any case of violence will encounter zero tolerance on our part.
The latest strike has led to an important government decision regarding the placement of police stations in emergency rooms and the allocation of necessary manpower, but we must examine things solely at the level of implementation in the field.
"As long as we do not see real actions in the immediate term, we will intensify the steps until someone here wakes up and understands that violence in the health system is a real epidemic."
Prof. Hagai Zion: "A case of violence will encounter zero tolerance", Photo: Oren Cohen
Following the announcement, the nurses' organizations also joined the strike yesterday.
The chairman of the Histadrut Brothers and Sisters, Ilana Cohen, and the chairman of the Clalit Workers' Committee, Prof. Ben Hamo, discussed the situation and decided to shut down all clinics in the community, public health and hospitals following what they called a "violent attack" in which a doctor was injured.
Cohen said that "we are in a state of emergency in the health system. The 'violence attack' that took place is part of the escalation of the epidemic of violence in the health system. It is impossible to continue like this, the violence has become a real threat to the brothers and sisters The next of a brother, sister or employee of the health system. "
His brother-in-law noted that "the violence in the health system against the workers has really become an epidemic, and the doctor's severe attack in Beer Yaakov is crossing a red line that cannot be silenced. Miraculously, it did not end in death.
"Our workers are not the nomads. Tomorrow we will shut down the activities of all clinics and hospitals, demanding an end to violence against health care workers, allocating immediate resources and toughening the punishment in order to stop this epidemic. HMO workers must be protected."
Stricter punishment
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz also referred to the attack and said yesterday at the health conference of the Netanya Academic College in collaboration with FEMI that "serious steps should be taken against the attackers and prosecuted, but the Ministry of Health is not the police.
Medical teams demand: "Enough violence against us" (archive), Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"At the same time, we are increasing the security system in security guards to give employees a greater sense of security, but we must understand that it is not possible to put a security guard or police officer everywhere and therefore there should be significant enforcement and punishment, because anyone who dares to attack medical staff threatens our health. One in the country. "
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Gideon Saar is expected to submit a bill this Sunday to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation to aggravate the law regarding the phenomenon of violence against medical staff.
Under the proposal, the penalty for assaulting medical staff while providing medical care would be up to five years in prison, and the assault would be classified as a felony-type offense.
The amendment will apply to any "therapist" and will also include medics and paramedics from first aid organizations such as MDA and the Rescue Union.
The pharmacists are also on strike
Meanwhile, the Pharmacists' Union stated that today all pharmacies in Clalit Health Services will be closed.
Pharmacy services will not be provided at all Clalit Health Services facilities, including community clinics, public health and hospitals.
The secretary general of the Pharmacists' Association, Shimi Halali, said that "We pharmacists also suffer from patient violence, perhaps even more than any other sector in Clalit Health Services and government hospitals.
"The union has decided that our blood will not continue to be no man's land. We will not give up until the general management takes steps to ensure the safety of the pharmacists and pharmacists, who do sacred work for the patients."
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