A few weeks ago, I received a briefing from The Israel Project about Israel’s healthcare system since 1948. Full of turgid facts, what it proved beyond doubt was that the medical is staffed by all ethnic groups on behalf of ……. all ethnic groups.

So here are a few examples of what I mean by this:

1. When my teenage son was hospitalised for a stomach complaint, over half the beds were occupied by non-Jews, as was much of the staff.
2. Save A Child’s Heart international campaign, located in South Tel Aviv, has treated over 800 Palestinian youngsters in the past decade.
3. Prof. Zeev Rotstein at the internationally accredited Sheba Rehab Center near Tel Aviv was quoted as saying that:  “You have army doctors in white gowns alongside Palestinian doctors who are being trained, at the same time treating Israeli casualties of terrorist attacks and Palestinians who may have been hurt in army actions.”
4. Earlier this July, a team of 12 physicians from the UK’s NHS  visited Jerusalem to learn more of Jerusalem’s emergency health system, Terem. The software in use has won a prize from Microsoft. The aim is to launch a similar initiative in the UK, drastically waiting time.
5. And finally, let me show off about my own 16 year old daughter. She is currently completing the next level of being a volunteer for Israel’s ambulance service. Nearly 200 youths are engaged in the course, and yes they come from a multitude of different backgrounds.

As the NHS recognises, there is much in Israel’s heathcare to be copied by others.