Nurses throughout Israel went on strike Wednesday to protest violence against medical staff after a nurse was stabbed by a affected person on Monday.
Nurses walked out of hospitals, clinics, and Tipat Halav youngster well being facilities. School nurses additionally joined the walkout.
Dozens of nurses, medical staff and administrative employees went on strike at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, whose director, Prof. Yoram Weiss, addressed the protesters, earlier than calling for 30 seconds of silence in solidarity.
“All of us — nurses, workers and doctors — all represented here, swore an oath to take care of every human being. But when that person harms us, we have to demand that the state do everything it can to protect us,” he stated.
Nurses strike at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in protest of violence against medical personnel, July four, 2018 (Courtesy Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital)
As acknowledged by a December 2017 report issued by the Health Ministry committee inspecting the difficulty, there are greater than three,000 incidents of violence against medical personnel per yr, with solely 11 p.c of them reported to police. Only a small portion of that 11% are ever introduced to trial.
The chair of the Israel Nurses Union, Ilana Cohen, stated the strike was a name for motion after authorities failed to take care of the escalating downside.
“For years we have been constantly warning about the violence, and year after year the violence is increasing,” she advised the Ynet information website. “We thought that issues would change after the homicide of Tova Kararo final yr, however that didn't occur. Patients proceed to threaten and hurt nurses.
“Every week we see violence in hospitals and and in psychiatric hospitals. We warned and alerted the relevant ministries, but they do not deal with it.”
In March final yr, 78-year-old Asher Faraj doused his native HMO clinic within the metropolis of Holon with flammable liquid and set it alight, killing Kararo.
On Monday a 65-year-old nurse was left in average however secure situation after she was stabbed on the Shmuel Harofe Hospital within the central Israel city of Beer Yaakov.
The suspect, an asylum-seeker from Eritrea in his thirties who was a affected person on the hospital, was arrested and brought in for questioning by police.
As acknowledged by a report by Channel 10 TV information on Tuesday, safety digital camera footage of the assault confirmed a safety guard fleeing from the scene when the attacker drew his knife.
The Health Ministry strongly condemned the assault and ordered safety elevated at well being establishments.
Yaakov Litzman attends a Knesset Health Committee assembly on July 2, 2018. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
“We are committed to the safety and security of treatment staff, and we will work with the police and the Public Security Ministry to ensure that such cases do not recur,” stated Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, essentially the most senior official within the ministry.
The assault got here a day after a lady was sentenced to 5 months of neighborhood service for assaulting hospital safety staff and others final September.
During the sentencing the choose famous that “violence against medical staff and security guards has become widespread and it is incumbent on the court to protect medical staff.”