Maintenance workers and kitchen staff, some 300 employees of Poriah Hospital in Tiveria walked off the job this morning in protest due to server overcrowding. The strike action includes other support staff. Kitchen employees explain they are not preparing food for patients.

Workers explain that they are simply compelled to walk out due to the severe overcrowding, explaining they are “collapsing under the pressure” of continuing to operate way beyond the facility’s maximum capacity.

The support staff joins nurses around the country that have been striking for a number of hours daily in different hospitals.

The nation’s healthcare system is collapsing, particularly during the winter months when flu season contributes to many more hospital admissions as compared to other months of the year. Healthcare experts explain the number of nationwide hospital beds is insufficient during the summer months, and this alarming situation is exacerbated during the winter flu season.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)