Hospital outpatient clinics from Ramat Gan north to close

IMA chairman says talks between doctors, Treasury officials have been more serious after involvement of TA District Labor Court.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
hospital beds 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
hospital beds 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Since the Tel Aviv District Labor Court convened to goad the Israel Medical Association and Treasury wage officials to reach an agreement to a dispute that began in April, negotiations have been more serious, IMA chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman said on Sunday.
While the IMA said after the court hearing last week that it would soften the sanctions, the doctors did not decide to halt them completely.
On Sunday, all the public hospitals functioned on a reduced Shabbat schedule between 8 and 10 a.m. On Monday, outpatient clinics in the following hospitals in Ramat Gan and northward will be closed: Sheba, Meir, Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson and Hasharon Campuses, Hillel Yaffe, Rambam, Bnei Zion, Carmel, Emek, Poriya and Ziv.
Psychiatric and geriatric hospitals will function normally as will the health funds‚ community clinics.
No sanctions will be held on Tuesday, the eve of Shavuot, and on Wednesday, the festival itself.
On Thursday, outpatient clinics at all these hospitals from Tel Aviv and southward will be closed: Tel Aviv Sourasky, Assaf Harofeh, Wolfson, Barzilai, Kaplan, the two Hadassah University Medical Centers, Shaare Zedek, Soroka and Josephthal.
Next week, more sanctions, but less severe than those that have been called in recent weeks, will be held.