Isabel Oakeshott, a journalist for the British newspaper The Telegraph, was lost in daydreams while riding a scooter on the Tel Aviv promenade. It's unclear whether the handsome young people playing volleyball on the beach or the spectacular sunset distracted her attention, but she suddenly found herself on the sidewalk with a severe blow to her chin and head.
After kind passersby helped her up, the journalist returned to her hotel room, where concerns arose that she might be suffering from a concussion. She independently made her way to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv and received treatment with such speed and efficiency that it surprised her enough to inspire a column about her experience.
Under the headline "What my stupid accident in Tel Aviv reveals about truly world class healthcare," Oakeshott describes her experience in the Sylvan Adams Emergency Department at Ichilov Hospital. "There were no 12-hour queues like those in Britain's National Health Service. Within half an hour, I was standing before a nice doctor who spoke excellent English, stitched my chin, and took blood tests – the prognosis was that I was perfectly fine," Oakeshott wrote.
"I wanted to come to Israel to learn about war... and I did all that, but the accident also drew my attention to the enormous differences between Israel's healthcare system and Britain's," Oakeshott added. She continued by explaining the history and structure of medical services in Israel, outlining the health maintenance organizations and the public and government hospitals.
"The Sylvan Adams Emergency Department uses all kinds of time-saving and life-saving devices and artificial intelligence wizardry to treat patients well and quickly. Robots move around providing directions, and in their free time, staff members amuse themselves by testing the artificial intelligence system to see if it understands slang or distinguishes between female and male voices," she noted in her piece.
It appears the journalist encountered one of the best aspects of public medicine in Israel, and readers living in Israel would know there are places where service falls far short of the standard she described. Nevertheless, it's important occasionally to consider the perspective of foreigners from other Western countries and recognize that Israelis also have much to be thankful for in their healthcare system.
