MDA israel

Here in Israel we have acted with great wisdom, both in terms of our quarantine rules, as well as in the way that Magen David Adom, MDA. has played a pivotal triaging and supporting role. This has helped us “flatten the curve” of the virus. The fact that the majority of the population followed the rules has also helped control the situation.

On February 23, in record time, MDA set up and advertised a dedicated phone line for Corona-related issues. This line was used for all calls received either by phone or via the MDA app and dealt with issues that were not “regular” emergencies. Within days, tens of thousands of calls were being received, reaching a record of over 52,000(!) in one day. This went on while the emergency work of the ambulances and mobile intensive care units (MICUs) went on unabated and unaffected.

There are hundreds of positions in the dedicated call centers, located across several sites in order to reduce the risk of contagion amongst the call takers. These are manned mainly by MDA volunteers across all hours of the day. Amongst the volunteers there is a strong representation of MDA youth. Every six volunteers have a professional supervisor, and this system allows for a central monitoring of all the calls. It is clear that as this situation continues the pressure on MDA teams – including those arranging the swab tests, carrying them out, transporting those infected – is enormous, and it is therefore vital that there is public recognition of MDA’s central role and success in flattening the curve.

In countries that do not have the immediate ability to build a similar system, emergency departments and doctors’ surgeries have been flooded with contagious patients, leading to the infection of both medical staff as well as members of the public in the waiting rooms. This led to two sections of society that were best avoided actually being affected – medical teams and those with other illnesses. Once this primary infection had taken place, it was difficult to stop further spread.

Even if in future we need to deal with a sharp rise of those in need of critical care – something I don’t necessarily think is expected, the numbers of critically ill and those who have died is significantly lower than in other countries. We’ll know that we have done a great deal to reduce the risk, and, once more: we will trust MDA to allocate patients to the right treatment units in the best way possible.

We must not become complacent: IDF disabled, particularly those who are older, are in a high-risk category – so we must adhere to the social distancing and quarantine rules. This while we keep in contact with our members and friends, in any way possible, just as they have been happening up until now.

We have dealt with many more difficult things – we will deal with this too. 

And in the meantime – Kudos (and flowers) to MDA.

Prof. Chaim Knobler

An optimistic doctor

*Professor Knobler’s letter was republished from the מידעון ארגון נכי צה”ל