Last update - 00:00 28/12/2006
Shock treatment center in Sderot faces closure due to lack of funds
By Mijal Grinberg
The Hosen trauma center in the Negev town of Sderot, a frequent target of Qassam rocket attacks, is set to close down on January 1 unless the Health Ministry agrees to continue funding the part-time workers who treat hundreds of patients a month for shock.
"If our work isn't renewed, we won't be able to come to work in the center anymore," said Dr. Adriana Katz, who runs Hosen and the mental health clinic in Sderot.
The Health Ministry said it had initially agreed to hire the workers only for a three-month period ending in December, but was looking into keeping the trauma center open.
The center, which treats hundreds of people a month, was established in June, as the security situation worsened and the number of rockets increased.
Officials at the Sderot municipality and the local mental health clinic came up with the idea of opening Hosen in an effort to provide an immediate response to people who went into shock as a result of Qassam attacks. The center was opened in coordination with the Health Ministry and other government ministries.
The ambulances that arrive at the scene of the attacks had been transporting many shock victims to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, but the opening of Hosen has given many Sderot residents a treatment facility close to home, saving many a trip to the hospital.
According to the Sderot mental health clinic, the number of people seeking mental health services in Sderot has risen from several dozen in February to hundreds in each of the last several months.
Not only would Hosen's closing leave many without immediate local care for shock, but it is not even able to adequately function when it is open, said Katz. She said the three part-time Hosen positions approved by the Health Ministry are not sufficient.
"When a Qassam falls, we need three people there, including a general practitioner and a psychiatrist," she said. Now, though, there is only one person on call at a time.