Rambam Director debunks accusations: "The staff was diverse and is very hurt" | Exclusive

A few minutes before we sat down for a conversation, the secretary of Dr. Michal Mekel, director of Rambam Hospital in Haifa, entered her office with a basket of sweets and a note addressed to the intensive care unit staff. "Thank you for the dedicated care of the soldiers," wrote the commander of one of the battalions treated at Rambam. This was just one of many expressions of support that reached the hospital, which has been in the eye of the storm this past week following harsh allegations regarding allegedly inappropriate treatment of an IDF soldier by staff members from the Arab sector.

"We received many inquiries from patients and family members, soldiers and civilians, who were treated here and were pained to hear these accusations, and they asked to support us and say that they received excellent care," says Dr. Mekel in her first interview since the incident for Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth. "We have excellent cooperation with the army. I spoke with the Chief Medical Officer, who fully trusts the care provided at the hospital. The army is very involved in treating soldiers, we have excellent working relations, and we received backing from them for the excellent care provided to the wounded."

The storm that erupted following the claim of one of the families, the political clash, and the accusations on a racist background managed to shake the unique and delicate fabric between the Jewish and Arab sectors in the Israeli healthcare system. Although the hospital received wall-to-wall support within the healthcare system from directors of other hospitals, the Israel Medical Association, and professional unions, the cloud is still hovering.

Dr. Mekel wants to clarify that "sectoral identity is a non-issue for the hospital. People reach the positions they hold in the hospital thanks to skills and abilities. In my initial response, I intentionally did not refer at all to the sectoral identity of the staff. It seemed irrelevant to me, but I understand that this is what occupied many people. The answer is no, they were not only from the Arab sector; the staff on shift was a diverse team of Jewish and Arab doctors, nurses, and male nurses. The on-call doctor was a kippah-wearer, and one of the male nurses from the Arab sector is an active-duty reservist."

"There is no truth in the complaints"

According to Dr. Mekel, the incident was checked in all its details. "A clarification was made with all the staff members who were on shift: managers, nursing staff, senior doctors, the on-call doctor, and the ventilator technician," she says. "The system of clarification and investigation is common in the hospital's work. This complaint, even though it was received through an Instagram post, also underwent clarification. This is a veteran, skilled, and experienced staff, and the investigation showed that there is no truth in the complaints."

The storm began after the brother of a fighter who was seriously wounded in Lebanon and treated at Rambam described in an Instagram post how an Arabic-speaking staff locked the ward doors to families, and according to the claim, treated the wounded and his friends rudely ("they turned him in bed brutally, 'like a sardine'").

"Intensive care is not a regular hospitalization ward. Patients in intensive care are the most difficult patients in the hospital, some of them are ventilated and sedated," explains Dr. Mekel. Because of this, most hours of the day the ward is closed to family visits. "One must remember that when family members visit a patient, it also affects other patients in the same room, the quality of care, and patient privacy. In our intensive care, similar to other units in the country and the world, visits are limited to twice a day. It is written on the door; it is not that the ward suddenly closed by surprise during the night hours."

However, Dr. Mekel explains that in the last year, against the background of the prolonged war, she asked to allow family members of wounded soldiers to stay by their loved ones for a longer time. "When it comes to soldiers, the sensitivity of all of us rises, and I wanted to allow families to be as much as possible next to the patients."

"The staff is very hurt"

When politicians entered the picture regarding the claims about the brutal turning of the patient in bed, Dr. Mekel explains that sometimes it is required to turn patients for treatment purposes. "This is done with the greatest sensitivity. These are difficult patients who sometimes suffer from wounds and burns. The staff uses painkillers to minimize the pain. The gap between pain that a patient may feel during position changes and abuse is huge. This is a completely different event, which of course did not happen."

"I was sorry that those who came out in the media with statements saying that it is very serious did not wait first for the fact-checking," says Dr. Mekel. "The first thing I thought about was the patient. The second thing I thought about was the staff, and I realized that we are entering a problem because it raises sectoral issues. I have a staff that is so dedicated, so professional, which gives its heart and soul regardless of the sector from which it comes. I felt that there is a mortal blow here to the staff. A post goes up and down and is forgotten, but there is a staff here that is very, very hurt, and that we will have to rehabilitate."

Since the incident, the teams feel fear. "This incitement in the media has an effect. Citizens heard 'abuse of IDF soldiers,' which for them is the most terrible thing. Since the incident, we received hostile letters and encountered citizens who arrived physically at the hospital and broke into the ward with shouts. We placed a security guard in the ward to protect the staff, because they are afraid." An intervention team including psychologists and social workers was also introduced to support the staff.