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“The accident shifted my focus onto Israel’s widely admired healthcare system. The contrast with the NHS (British National Health Service) was too glaring to ignore.”
By Shula Rosen
UK Telegraph journalist Isabel Oakeshott gave a glowing review of Israel’s healthcare system after receiving hospital treatment for an injury.
While working in Tel Aviv, covering wartime Israel, Oakeshott was riding a scooter and enjoying the view when she saw her hat flying through the air and fell face-first onto the pavement.
Friendly strangers helped her to a bench, but after awhile, she stood independently and made her way to her hotel room.
Shocked by her waxen complexion in the mirror and becoming concerned about possible delayed symptoms of a severe head injury (of the sort that claimed the life of British actress Natasha Richardson after a seemingly minor ski accident), the British journalist went to the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov).
Immediately, Oakeshott noticed the difference between Israeli and British hospitals; in Tel Aviv, the patients seemed relaxed, the hospital traffic was managed efficiently, and the wait time was minimal.
“Nobody was lying on trolleys in the corridor; no ambulances backed up outside, unable to drop off patients due to lack of beds or staff; no police officers required to maintain order. The atmosphere was totally calm,” she wrote in the Telegraph.
Oakeshott remarked on the polite doctor who spoke good English and promptly discovered that her blood tests indicated that she was fine.
“The accident shifted my focus onto Israel’s widely admired healthcare system. The contrast with the NHS was too glaring to ignore,” she said.
The journalist credited Israel’s focus on dedicated emergency hospitals for her efficient treatment. In contrast, British hospitals treat emergency cases, appointments, and routine tests under one roof.
“Based on mandatory health insurance with not-for-profit providers, Israel’s health system is means-tested but universal, ensuring even the poorest citizens are covered. By both efficiency and outcome, it ranks among the best in the world – as I can attest,” she said.
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