[INTERVIEW] the Director of Regional Patient Services talks about the experience of Palestinian patients in Sheba Medical Centre

         This interview was conducted in Arabic on January 2nd, 2023, through a video call with Raied Baloum who works as the Director of Regional Patient Services in Sheba Medical Centre. The questions that were asked in this interview revolve around the case of Palestinian patients from both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank who are getting treatment in Sheba Medical Centre. 

Sheba Cancer Center in Ramat Gan, Israel. (image provided by Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer)

1Q: Would you like to state yourself for the record and talk about your profession and what you do?

A: Hi, I’m Raied Baloum from Taybieh Merkaz, I been working in Sheba Medical Centre for 15 years now in the medical coordination unit, which is referred to as “Regional Patient Services”. The unit is one of its kind being the only unit by an Israeli hospital to manage patients from the middle east and more specifically from the Gaza strip and the West bank.

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2Q: What is the work process and the nature of the job in the unit?

A: The unit is made up of 9 employees who work in providing services for the patients through communicating with both the Palestinian Health Ministry and The Israeli Civil Administration. The type of the cases we handle vary from urgent cases that could save a life to normal and relatively easy cases. The work process goes like this: We get the case from the Palestinian Authority, then We have to present the case to specialized doctors to be able to get an appointment for the patient, and after scheduling an appointment we contact the Palestinian Authority to discuss financial coverage of the patient treated. On another end the role of the Israeli Civil Administration/Security forces and is to provide a permit for the patients to enter Israel for the treatment.

Our job as employees is to be at the services of the patient within the hospital and throughout their treatment, whether it was with translation, providing medication, scheduling appointments and financial help.

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3Q: You mentioned something about a “Permit” that the Palestinians from the West bank and Gaza strip have to obtain, how is the process of transporting the patients from such regions go?

A: Overall, for the patient to be able to come and get treatment, there are 2 things that need to be in place: First, for the patient to be financially covered by the Palestinian Authority, in some instances the patients face difficulties with the Authority when it comes to the insurance that covers them financially. Second, they have to request a permit from the Israeli Security Forces to be able to enter Israel for the treatment, which is a draining and a difficult process that could affect the health of the patient due to the time it takes to get a permit, especially if the patient is coming from the Gaza strip.

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4Q: You mentioned difficulties Palestinian patients have to face in order to get to the hospital. What about difficulties that they face upon arriving to the hospital?

A: Our patients face a lot of challenges due to the environment being so different from what they’re usually used to, they experience a cultural shock where they have to accommodate to new set of values, new language (Hebrew) and a gap in understanding cultural differences. They also have a hard time being away from home and being separated from family, social circle, and not being able to finish their education in their respective school back home. All these factors affect the patient, and the person who accompanies them both mentally and physically.

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5Q: At the beginning you talk about the type of cases you handle. Can you tell me more about that specific area? Like what type of cases are you referring to?

A: 80% of the cases we handle are of Palestinian children and the remaining 20% is of Palestinian adults. The number of patients who come from both the West bank and Gaza strip is about the same (almost equal percentage), the type of patients that come from these regions vary and are usually: Cancer patients, patients with rare diseases, or genetic diseases, patients with burns, and trauma patients.

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6Q: Is there a support system for the Palestinian patients who are going through a hard time accommodating to the environment surrounding them?

A: Our staff is made up mostly of specialized social workers who escort the patients through any situation really, but we also got therapists who speak Arabic and educational programs taught in Arabic to patients who are unable to continue studies back home with the help of Arabic speaking teachers. Additionally, there are entertainment events and trips conducted for the children to enjoy and when it comes to extreme cases where the child makes his last wishes (hopeless cases) We try our best to make that wish come true.

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7Q: How does Sheba Medical Center provide services to Palestinian patients even though there is an ongoing conflict with both Israel and Palestine?

A: Although there is a conflict between both sides (Israeli-Palestinian) when it comes to medical and humanitarian cases politics are put aside and these medical cases become a priority. Even in extreme times such as the Gaza war and terrorist attacks, the hospital doesn’t change the policy and accepts patients from all the regions; Sheba’s policy is to provide the same treatment for all their patients with all backgrounds and religions. The space in the hospital is a friendly environment that is full of peace between patients and the medical staff due to the politics-free policy. 

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8Q: Continuously working with such cases could affect the staff mentally, how does the staff deal with the stress of dealing with these tremendously difficult cases?

A: Without a doubt we deal with a lot of extreme cases that could leave a bad mark on us and leave us hurt, especially when there are children being involved; at the end of the day, we are humans with emotions. On the other hand, what fuels our drive is the cases that succeed, where patients get the treatment and recover. Each one in our staff gets up to work for the intent of helping humans rather than the financial benefits that may come with the job.

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9Q:  How does the communication process go when working with you and the Palestinian Authority?

A:  One of the reasons I succeed as the director of the unit is because of the ability to communicate and the ability to obtain the trust of all sides; The patient’s, the hospital’s and the Palestinian Authority. What I mean is to create a balance between the 3 sides, especially when it comes to the Palestinian Authority where they tend to be more skeptical when working with the Israeli side, also the fact I’m Arab Israeli contributes a lot when it comes to working with both sides and creates a dual trust, one between the patients and the Palestinian Authority since we share the same background, ethnic group, and language. The other trust being the one of Sheba’s, where I get a lot of support and respect from my peers.

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10Q: For our final question, I would like to ask you about a personal experience when working with difficult cases that stuck with you?

A: There are hundreds of close to heart cases but the one that stuck with me the most is the one of a child with the name of Mohamad, he was about 8 years old. Usually, I like to visit children in their rooms to check on them as it became a habit of mine, and one day when I visited Mohamad, he asked me to bring him a traditional Arabic dish that he didn’t eat for a long time since he is away from home. So, I took an hour and a half drive and brought him the food and a bouquet of flowers, but as soon as I arrive to the hospital room, I hear loud cries and his father comes up full of tears and tells me that Mohamad had just died. Upon hearing the news, I was in shock as I dropped what was in my hands and started crying. Till this day even after 10 years of the incident, the whole thing just stays and never leaves my head.    

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The interview ended immediately after Question 10, because it holds a very emotional and personal memory to Raied Baloum.