The strike by Foreign Ministry employees prevents the entry of a thousand nursing workers into Israel
Following the strike, which has been going on for a month and a half, the visas of the 1,000 Nepalese workers have not been approved by the Foreign Ministry Exceptions Committee.
According to sources in the nursing homes, the shortage is also evident during routine periods - but the current situation harms the elderly even more.
"The caregivers will withstand the load, but the patients will suffer"
Meirav Cohen
21/02/2022
Monday, 21 February 2022, 20:30 Updated: 20:32
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In the video: The Beit HaZayit nursing home, which lost 6 of its members to Corona disease (Photo: Yoav Itiel and Shlomi Gabay)
The Foreign Ministry workers' strike this week prevented the entry of about a thousand foreign workers from Nepal destined to work in nursing homes, including geriatric hospitals, nursing homes and institutions for the mentally debilitated.
The strike has been going on for a month and a half, and its end is not in sight.
The decision of the National Insurance Institute to allow the admission of foreign workers - and not to individual patients, is a precedent and occurred in the wake of the Corona crisis.
However, the institutions, which have been begging for workers for a long time, have been waiting for a decision on behalf of the 1,000 Nepalese citizens for many weeks - but the Foreign Ministry did not respond to the request to give them work visas with the help of an exceptions committee.
Along with the 1,000 workers in question, the arrival of an additional 1,500 workers is expected in future beats.
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"Even without the corona and the isolations there is a shortage."
Nursing center in Petah Tikva during the first wave (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Liron Merhav, director of the Amal Nursing Home in the service of the Amal Group and beyond, described the difficulty.
"Even in the normal day-to-day life, without the corona and isolation, there is a shortage of working hands in nursing homes. Israelis from all walks of life hardly go to this work. We waited for these workers to come because we need 24 people a day. We are talking about feeding, bathing and very basic things. "When there is a shortage of working hands, each caregiver is forced to work under time pressure on more tenants. It is not good for anyone."
"At full standard there are between seven and nine residents per therapist, and now there is a ratio of 11-10 patients per single therapist," Merhav added.
"We ask the staff for overtime, the workers can not be sick and during the isolation period it was unbearable. When you have less attention to give to each patient, it affects the quality of care. A tired therapist is of course impatient and everything is much harder. We have cameras and we see Everything, but obviously there is less patience for everyone's basic needs. We have a solution we have been waiting for. It's not fair, and this is not the time to strike at our expense. I'm sure they have a reason to strike, but these are old and sick people who founded the country "They can grow old with dignity. They must not be harmed. The caregivers will withstand the load, but the patients will suffer."
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According to the director general of the Nursing Homes Association, Nachi Katz, the struggle with the state for the arrival of foreign caregivers has been going on for years. .
But this month, instead of seeing their arrival, we are amazed to see that an unexpected reason follows about a thousand workers so much needed to care for the elderly in institutions.
We expect someone in the country to come to his senses and solve the problem. "
Itzik Cohen, director general of the Geriatrics Association in Israel, which owns about 100 nursing homes and geriatric hospitals, said that the association has been dealing with the issue for two years.
When the workers started arriving - it had already stopped.
I call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State of Israel to demand in humanitarian cases such as our situation, the care of the nursing elderly, to contact the Exceptions Committee.
These are working hands that can replace nurses and siblings who do double shifts of 16 hours on average, there is a severe shortage of workers, while there are corona and isolated patients among them, and the situation created directly impairs the quality of care the elderly receive.
The situation can not continue like this.
"The efficiency of the treatment is impaired, the staffs are tired and exhausted, with less compassion and tolerance, and the foreign workers from Nepal who were supposed to arrive can save the situation."
The Foreign Ministry staff said:
"Foreign Ministry employees are the first to stand by the citizens of the country and help them anywhere in the world and at any time. Even one negotiation meeting. The damage to the workers' terms of employment amounts to damage to the Foreign Service and Israeli diplomacy, and we have no choice but to use the tools of organizational struggle available to us. To the crisis. "
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Retirement homes
Foreign workers
Health Care System
Elderly
