OneJerusalem.com

The medical staff of Soroka hospital in Be’er-Sheva will partially strike today in protest of violence against the staff. During the past week alone there have been three cases of violence. In two cases family members of patients used harsh verbal violence against the medical staff, and on last Thursday a man threw a cell phone on the doctor treating his son.

The doctor’s committee decided to perform sanctions in protest of late events. The head of the committee, Dr. Israel Eilig, said: “For a long time we didn’t take any measures and many staff members decided not to report (the violence). So formally we’re aware of only three cases, but it has become a daily situation”

The committee will not shut down the entire hospital since it is not possible morally and practically. All of the outer clinics and institutes within the hospital will be shut down and the operation rooms will work in Shabbat structures. That means only emergencies and special cases. Regular surgeries that were scheduled for today will not be canceled. Emergency room, intensive care and a few other departments will work as usual.

According to the committee, the problem is not Soroka’s alone. It is a national problem in all of the hospitals in the country. Dr. Eiling expressed his hope that the state will adopt the conclusions of the committee set to investigate hospital violence in 1999. Then the committee recommended that a police officer will be set in every hospital, that the number of people escorting the patient will be limited and that the waiting room will be modified to become more comfortable and soothing.