Will the failure to operate the state-of-the-art surgical robot at Nahariya Hospital lead to a vote of no confidence in the government?
After the story of not approving the operation of the robot was revealed in "Israel Today", the Likud faction and MK Ofir Katz will raise a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister on Monday regarding "harm to the health of the residents of the periphery". Surgery of Da Vinci brand purchased by the hospital in Nahariya.
The proposal also concerns the fact that the establishment of a unit for cerebral catheterization - an advanced treatment for stroke, at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon - has not been approved.
"The government prevents the use of medical equipment that exists in hospitals in the periphery and severely harms the medical service that residents of the north and south receive," reads the motion of no confidence sent to Knesset Speaker MK Miki Levy.
This is a device worth NIS 11 million that was purchased with donors' money for the hospital in Nahariya - but the robot has not yet been activated because the Ministries of Health and Finance do not approve its operation.
Currently, patients required to undergo surgery using the device are required to travel to the center of the country.
Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, Photo: Michel Dot Com
There are only 11 such devices in Israel, with seven in hospitals in the central region and two in Jerusalem.
In the periphery there is one device at Soroka Hospital in the south and Rambam Hospital in the north.
In a discussion held at the Health Committee last October, the head of technology at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Osnat Luxenburg, admitted that only eight licenses had been issued in Israel and that some hospitals operate the robot without a license and some have received a retroactive license.
At the hearing, the Ministries of Health and Finance said that they would change the regulations and approve the operation of additional devices, but since more than a month has passed, no regulations have been approved and the issue has not come up for further discussion in the Health Committee.
MK Ofir Katz: "There is no match between the number of devices they received in the center and the north," Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The robot performs complex surgeries, including prostate and gastric bypass surgeries.
Its uniqueness is that the surgery is performed using a robotic arm that is inserted through a small opening and without a large incision.
The surgeon can operate it remotely and even from another room.
Recovery from surgery is faster and results are better.
MK Ofir Katz: "The government and this coalition are fatally harming the residents of the periphery.
There is no adequacy between the amount of devices in the periphery and the center.
Is there a policy of government ministries here to allow hospitals in the center to purchase devices, and in the periphery?
Close the taps.
Northern residents deserve equal medical service as central residents.
This government has adopted a line of trampling on the weak, the people of the periphery and everyone who is not in the 'elite'.
I will continue to fight. '
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us