The Deputy Health Minister on a visit to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center

Last Thursday, on December 17, 2010, the Deputy Minister of Health, Member of Knesset Rabbi Yaakov Litzman arrived at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center on one of his customary visits to the various hospitals, and as a result of the invitation to him by Professor Meir Oren, the Director of the Medical Center. During the visit, Deputy Minister Litzman was shown the activity of the hospital and made aware of all the main issues which have to be combated on a day to day basis - hospitalization hardship, personnel related hardship, hardship caused by lack of adequate standards and infrastructures and the obtaining of budget funds for the day to day operational functioning of the hospital. Among the problems raised were; the urgent need for additional hospital beds, especially in general intensive care, as well as the need for another theater for the performance of catheterization procedures, and improving the hospitalization conditions in these units and in the psychiatric ward.

Mr. Litzman also toured the "Hillel Yaffe' emergency admission section in the  urgent medical attention ward and the psychiatric ward, in which after having been there for only a few short minutes, he told the participants that further explanation was unnecessary as to the need for the infrastructures budget referred to earlier. 

At the end of the visit, Deputy Minister Litzman told Professor Oren and members of the Hospital's Board of Management, that he deems the safeguarding of proper standards of functioning in the public health sector to be of vital importance, and gave an assurance that he would take action, with a view to obtaining the necessary budget funds for the enhancement of the hospital and the population it serves, at the earliest opportunity. 

Apart from senior members of the Board of Management of the Hospital  and Chairman of the Committees, also invited and present during the visit were, senior officials of the Ministry of Health, including, The Head of Medical Administration, Dr. Hezi Levy, the Head of the Planning Administration and Senior Deputy Director General, Mr. Yehuda Ron, the Ministry's Financial Comptroller, Mr. Dudi Gershonowitz and a Representative of the Budgets Division and Head of the Hospitals Unit, Mr. Jonathan Green.

Professor Oren with The Deputy Minister at the Trauma Room      

The Deputy Minister at the E.R. From left to right: The Deputy Minister,

 Dr. Ben Moshe, the Administrative Director, Professor Oren

 and Dr. Ashkar, Director of the EMD