Recent reports show that waiting time in major hospital emergency rooms in Israel is unacceptably high. Times documented include over seven hours in Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center and five hours plus in Hadassah. While a growing number of people report to paid private emergency rooms around the country including Terem many still find themselves waiting countless hours in the corridors of hospital ERs.

The Ministry of Health is seeking to sharply curtail waiting time and towards achieving this goal a plan is being considered by which the top five emergency rooms will be rewarded with cash in the bank.

Hospital officials recently took part in an urgent conference with Health Minister Yael German, where the alarming realities of ER waiting time were discussed. German has established a fact-finding committee headed by Dr Jackie Ohr, who heads emergency services in Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer to probe the current situation and the viability of an incentive program.

The suggested plan would involve dividing the 20 million NIS in prize money between the hospitals, which will be judged on numerous ER criteria including; doctor/nurse patient ratio, the continued presence of an attending physician in an ER, and waiting time for patients.

Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Roni Gamzu explains the money will act as an incentive for hospitals to focus on improving ER services, admitting the ministry hasn’t yet found a source for the prize money.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)