The public hospitals announced on Friday morning that "thousands of doctors will protest the collapse of seven public hospitals and the [government's] ignorance of the crisis opposite the Health Ministry on Sunday," Ynet reported.
The seven medical centers involved are Shaare Zedek and Hadassah in Jerusalem, Laniado in Netanya, Maayanei Hayeshua in Bnei Brak and Nazareth's three hospitals. They are protesting the delay in their budgets that they agreed on with the Health Ministry in January and their need to go into emergency mode.
Currently, the hospitals are not accepting non-emergency patients, ambulances are only being accepted for life-saving cases and important surgeries are not being done unless they are essential.
The hospitals told Ynet that the situation "embarasses degrades the health system at the height of the Coronavirus crisis" because without a budget, they cannot buy equipment, take on doctors and nurses or manage a hospital.
The medical technologist's battle is also expected to worsen, with them striking on Sunday, meaning that entire medical systems will not function. They join approximately 110 medical technologists who began striking on Tuesday.
According to the agreement with the Health Ministry, the hospitals were supposed to get a monthly budget of NIS 105 million. On Monday, they called for a press conference next to the Health Ministry, at the end of which, they were asked to speak to Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and Director General of the Health Ministry Nahman Ash, but the conversation did not prevent the continuation of the protest.