Thousands of medical administration employees from 30 medical centers across Israel walked out on strike on Tuesday over under-funding for managerial and administrative positions.
“We did not really want to get to this point but the Finance Ministry has left us no choice,” said Eli Badash, head of the union for public hospital workers at the Histadrut.
“For three years, we have been warning of unreasonable workloads that are only increasing. Every time another hospital wing is built, or another department is opened, the number of managerial and other support staff should increase alongside the medical staff but it has not happened.
“We can no longer withstand the loads without harming patients and endangering their health,” Badash continued, adding that “there are about 1,000 employees missing in the various departments.”
The strike, which began at 6 a.m., included several general hospitals, mental health and rehabilitation facilities and geriatric hospitals. Among them were Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.
Those on strike were administrative workers, maintenance, cleaning and kitchen staff, hospital transport services and others.
Workers who serve units that cater to urgent medical needs, such as oncology wards, dialysis, preterm infants and maternity wards did not go on complete strike, but provided weekend-level support.
“Various services will not be provided at Galilee Medical Center,” the hospital told visitors in an advance statement, “including cleaning, administration, maintenance and kitchen services, as well as sterile supplies for operating rooms and transporting patients.”
The hospital said, “we ask the general public to be patient.”
Furthermore, after another incident in which a patient who was hospitalized in one a psychiatric hospital assaulted another patient on Monday night. Prof. Zion Hagay, head of the Israel Medical Association, sent a letter to the Health and Internal Security ministers demanding an immediate upgrade of hospital security systems.
He said the organization is demanding a police presence at all emergency rooms and that a security guard be placed in every active psychiatric ward.
“This is critical,” he wrote. “The reality on the ground has proven this more than once.”
He added that “violence in the system can and should be eradicated not only by strengthening the security system, but also by strengthening the administrative and medical manpower.”
On Wednesday, the association will hold a protest in sympathy of psychiatric patients who are subjected to violence due to lack of appropriate security staffing.