The hospitalization of a patient with hypoesthesia at a hospital in Tel Aviv has become a cause célèbre, as her mother claims she was pressured to accept treatment from a physician who had a criminal record.
The patient, whose name has not been released, suffered hypo-involuntary coma and has lost consciousness in the ICU of a Hebrew University Hospital.
Her mother, Shira, claims she went to the hospital on January 11, and was told by a doctor to accept the treatment from Dr. Meir Amit, a member of the ultra-Orthodox yeshiva sect.
Shira said that Amit, who was born in Israel and has a criminal conviction, has an unusual practice in which he asks patients to voluntarily undergo hypoactive symptoms for a period of days, weeks or months.
“I felt humiliated, I felt embarrassed, I was embarrassed and ashamed,” Shira said.
“It was like being raped,” she added.
Shriram is a former member of a yeshivas ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Israel, which has been accused of criminal activity and is known for its strict rules on medical care.
She said her daughter went to an Israeli hospital for treatment on January 9 and the doctors there were not aware of her problems.
“They were shocked when I told them I had a problem with hypnosis and I was not well, and when they asked why I did not have a pulse, they said, ‘Why didn’t you go to the doctors?
Because of the crime?'””
They said, if I had gone to the doctor, he would have said, No, you can’t go to him,” she said.
Shiram said she felt embarrassed and humiliated, but did not know what to do next.
“I was afraid that the doctors would not take me seriously, because they do not know about my situation, she said, adding that she is considering taking legal action against the hospital.”
In the past, the hospitals have told me that I am not capable of receiving medical care, and now, with the new law, I am even more afraid.
“She also accused the hospital of pressuring her to accept a diagnosis from Amit, despite her daughter’s medical history.”
There are so many doctors who have criminal records, but not the ones who take care of me,” Shiram added.”
Why did they do that?
Because they don’t want to lose their job and to have to explain to me why they don.
They are scared to lose the job, they don