Report to the ... Zionist Congress and to the Council of the Jewish Agency in ... · 1935-08-01 · 8.1935 · p. Seite 414

; , B.—Health Department of the Vaad Leumi. - 5. The rapid growth of the Yishub and of its' hygienic requirements, together with the increase of responsibilities of the community in this field, have brought home the urgent need for enlarging our Health Department. Dr. P. Noack, till lately District Medical Officer in Germany, was invited by the Vaad Leumi to take charge of the Health Department as Medical Superintendent. The Medical Council of the Jewish community (Knesseth Israel), which is the advisory committee of thé Vaad Leumi in affairs of hygiene, consists of 7 members, representing the community and the medical profession, and 4 ex-officio members. The 4. ex-officio members represent the following institutions :— the Vaad Leumi, Hadassah, the Sick Fund of the Labour Federation, and the National Sick Fund. , In March, 1934, a meeting in conjunction with representatives of local communities was called in order to deal with the problem of fighting the summer diseases and with the methods of payments to the various public hospitals. On these two questions definite resolutions were arrived at, which were entrusted to the Health Department of the Vaad Leumi for execution. At the end of January, 1935, a second meeting was called to deal with the problem of consumption and the methods of fighting this disease. It was decided amongst other resolutions to erect a central Sanatorium for consumptives in the vicinity of Jerusalem under the aegis of the League for combating consumption in Palestine. 6. A problem causing a great deal of concern is the lack of an adequate number of beds in the various hospitals. Tel-Aviv, Haifa and the plantation colonies, which receive the greatest proportion of the immigration, were most affected by this insufficiency, which amounted almost to a catastrophe. Conservative estimate fixes the number of beds required by Tel-Aviv alone (apart from rural surroundings) at 400, whereas there are only 184 beds provided in the municipal hospital. The Jewish community at Haifa needs at least 100 hospital beds, whereas only 46 are available. There is not a single hospital in all the plantation colonies of Judea, Samaria, and the Sharon Valley. This serious situation is slightly alleviated by the fact that the Government hospitals admit infectious cases (especially typhus) for treatment, but the number of admissions is far below the growing demand. This state of affairs results in a considerable overcrowding in Jewish hospitals (the average figure for occupied space is over 100 per cent.). The consequences are insufficient attention to serious cases, proving fatal in many instances, and the spread of contagious diseases due to the insufficient isolation during the first stages of the attack. 7. The Health Department of the Vaad Leumi appealed, for assistance to the Government and laid particular stress on the 4Ï4