The ministry is also planning the construction of an additional hospital in the Negev.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHUpdated: JANUARY 25, 2017 03:13A PATIENT is brought into the emergency room at Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba as people in the waiting room look on.(photo credit: MAARIV)
Ninety-one beds will be added this year and next to Beersheba’s Soroka University Medical Center.The added beds will be placed in the obstetrics, intensive care, pediatrics, rehabilitation, oncology and orthopedics departments, as agreed upon by the Health Ministry and Clalit Health Services (which owns the hospital) in consultation with the Beersheba Municipality.The ministry is also planning the construction of an additional hospital in the Negev, with Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman saying the move is aimed at improving medical care in the periphery.Litzman’s director-general, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, added that the Treasury and his ministry are committed to giving priority to healthcare in the outlying areas and making medical treatment there more accessible, with shorter waits.Clalit director-general Eli Depes said Soroka is a national asset for the South, which has to cope with lack of manpower and infrastructure as more people move into the region.Beersheba Mayor Ruvik Danilovich said he was happy about the news, which will reduce gaps between the South and the center of the country. “We want to significantly shorten queues for medical treatment here. At the same time, we are speeding up planning of the new hospital that will be built in Beersheba,” he said.