Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein visited Laniado Hospital.
The Minister of Health, Yuli Edelstein began his visit to Laniado Hospital by going to see the Rebbe of Sanz, Shlitah. The Minister spoke with him for over an hour about the vision of the hospital, as articulated by the Rebbe's father זצ"ל, 45 years ago. This way of looking at the hospital has become, over the years, the basis of the law concerning the rights of the patient.
At the hospital, the Minister of Health was received by the CEO, Nadav Chen, and the medical director, Prof. Zvi Shimoni.
The Minister visited the emergency department, which serves the population of Netanya and the Sharon region, nearly 500,000 people. An emergency respiratory service was recently opened for patients possibly infected with the coronavirus. There, the Minister met with staff who work 24 hours a day in difficult infrastructure conditions. The management then presented to the Minister and his cabinet the clinical and financial challenges the hospital has been facing since the start of the pandemic.
Nadav Chen told the Minister: “We now need help from the Ministry urgently. This is because during the first wave, having followed ministerial directives, we suffered a significant loss of income due to the cessation of our elective activities. Throughout this first wave, we examined and treated a very large number of people. And we continue to do so now, during the second wave. Staff costs within coronavirus departments are heavy and financial compensation is required. The Ministry's assistance is part of our continued ability to cope with this second wave and even more so as winter approaches. In addition to the care of patients infected with the coronavirus, we continue to develop various services to the public.”
At the end of his visit, the Minister said: “I greatly appreciate the professionalism and dedication of the hospital staff. They face great challenges and meet them with great honor. I am in serious negotiations with the Ministry of Finance so that we do not build these special coronavirus departments causing extra hardship for the hospitals. Hospitals in general and public hospitals, in particular, are in urgent need of significant funds, and Laniado Hospital is, of course, one of them. I hope we will come to a solution in the next few days. The deficit of public hospitals must be made good very quickly. The Ministry of Finance also understood this well."
The Minister of Health, Yuli Edelstein, wishes to continue visiting all the hospitals which take care of patients suffering from the coronavirus to get regular updates.