Health system leaders must be vigilant of actions and ideas that come from below - and incorporate ideas that come from the field in decision making • Closure can no longer be a total policy, and the system must begin and be individual where possible.

The controversy, first published in "Israel Today," on the question of Professor Rothstein's tests and initiatives in Hadassah, which is answered by jarring responses from the Ministry of Health, demonstrates that the situation has not yet been internalized - the system must begin to work decisively and be alert to ideas from the field - this is a prerequisite for victory and effectiveness.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed many debates over the Ministry of Health's policy, and at the center of the issue is whether the presence of the corona virus and the serological testing of antibodies. We are witnessing initiatives and ideas coming from the field as well as criticism of the Ministry of Health policy.

More on:

• First publication: Ministry of Health instructed Hadassah not to collect blood donations from recoverers

• Half of those deceased from Corona - 80 years of age or older

• Corona: The road goes a long way, the grades - at the end

• General curfew in the country: can be moved from city to city for equipping and in emergencies

As one that leads to a continuous line of parallel between fighting the virus and fighting terror - this is a natural process, which must teach the system that at some point the attention must be down. Trying to stay focused all the time does not require reality at an advanced stage. This logic was true in a resource-scarce state, but now that the system has redundancy, it is right to allow decentralized action.

Also in the fight against terrorism - learning comes from the field. Anyone who remembers the "Shield Wall" period and the sequel, that's how it worked. The campaign was conducted with guidelines and the division of boundaries, but every method of action was followed, and quite a few attempts were made along the way.

Because the event is innovative for all of us, the most important experience is those who see the problem with their eyes and fight it directly. Hospitals have a huge relative advantage here, and the healthcare system must be attentive and flexible to what comes up. Undoubtedly initiatives should not be rejected. The downward projected sense of revocation is incorrect and ineffective in the situation we are in.

What is going on here?

Ideas that come from the field must be part of the decision-making pattern. And not just in terms of resource utilization, but in different ways to maximize effectiveness. It is imperative that at the system level there will be a thinking team that collects these ideas - just as it is used in team design of learning, of knowledge transfer, of idea formation.

The system must learn from these ideas, copy them to other places, and give them a tailwind. Initiative suppression is the exact opposite of what is needed at the stage we are in. Remember - we are facing an exit process, in which many are also disappearing. In a state of uncertainty, suppression of initiatives is in the system. Every effort is like a flashlight in the dark, and any identification or opening up to the idea is an option that can turn out to be revolutionary.

At the very least, the system must work in unifying forces - a regular policy and openness. Intense arguments, probably in the public eye, are detrimental to social cohesion. Here too, the identity of fighting terror is clear - that is its purpose - to destroy the tissue of life and not to allow routine.

When the system radiates gaps and cracks in perceptions toward the public - the public loses confidence. This is unthinkable in the critical situation we are in - and is the stage of transition from defender to routine in the shadow of the virus.

Public trust is a prerequisite for success in this campaign - and this is where the system is committed to understanding that a sub-system that deals with public consciousness and trust must be activated. Cracks in this texture will lead the public to act in the "man in his faith will live" - ​​which is both impossible and incorrect.

If so, in the created situation, the system leaders are required to be vigilant for actions and ideas from below. It is time to move between the institutions, learn what they are doing, charge them, raise them, and certainly not resist them. Collaboration is not a technique, it is value in war. As has been said many times on the battlefield - we are required not only for participation but for partnership.

The return to routine is at our doorstep. This is a process, and it will take time, but it is important to understand that closure can no longer be a total policy.

The system must begin to be granular where possible, and vice versa. The effort now is more economical and less medical. Needless to say, so far the medical effort has succeeded, and now the strengths have to be transferred to the economic effort. It is the time to appoint a responsible medical system who will act individually and continue to empower knowledge, while at the same time instituting a separate economic effort to put the economy back in the right place. We are in the right timing, and this is time for action.

The writer is a former brigade commander in the IDF, currently investigating military and company relations