Three High Court judges this morning (Wednesday) ordered the state to consider freezing the implementation of the outline of shortening the shifts of interns. The hearing was in a Clalit Health Services petition demanding to postpone the implementation of the outline. At the end of a short hearing, less than half an hour, the judges ordered the state to decide for itself whether to freeze or cancel the shortening of shifts.
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In its petition, Clalit Health Fund argued that the shortening of shifts could not be implemented. It was scheduled to begin on April 1 at ten hospitals in the periphery. Petitioner’s explanation provided: Lack of budgets and standards. The judges therefore ordered the state to decide for itself, in view of the discrepancy between the words of the ministers of economy and health and the prosecution’s request for an interim order to implement the outline.
Reminder: The outline for shortening the shifts, from 26 hours to 16 to 18 hours, was not implemented because no standards were added and the budgets needed for its implementation were not transferred. The general petition was filed against Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and the director general of his office, Nachman Ash, Economy Minister Orna Barbibai, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Histadrut.
Clalit’s attorney said: “Under the circumstances and in the situation that has arisen, there is currently a valid valid order, and on the other hand it is not implemented. No hospital is able to implement it and there is no dispute about the impossibility of implementing it. We ask the court to discuss this and extend it. “Urgent relief and consider giving the interim order that the state agrees to. We are in an intolerable situation where good people, hospital administrators, are today caught in violation of the law. Land an order that can not be complied with. The state says it and the Medical Association says it.”
The contradiction pointed out by the judges in the verdict relates to the fact that Ministers Horowitz and Barbibai wrote that they wanted to execute the order immediately, but at the same time the State Attorney’s Office requested an extension of another month until they reached agreements on the outline, due to lack of appropriate standards and budgets.
At the entrance to the Jerusalem Supreme Court building, the interns’ organization “Prescription” staged a protest in which a doll dressed in doctor’s robes lay on beds, with the signs “You sold us” and “No more.”
The organization’s chairman, Dr. Ray Bitton, called on judges this morning not to postpone the implementation of the outline: “Together they have all the elements who opposed and continue to consistently oppose the shortening of shifts, violating the employment permit which is in the form of a law that came into force two weeks ago. It is to be or cease: to shorten the shifts or not.