A father’s angst

I, the great-grandparent of a child who has undergone extensive treatment primarily at Hadassah, was stunned and troubled to read “Six leading Hadassah oncologists resign in protest” (March 6).

For more than a year and a half, my great-grandchild was in the capable hands of compassionate, caring oncologists who struggled to save a one-and-a half year old from a very serious and stressful illness. The reaction to the news by the child’s father, my grandson, appears below in a message to my wife and me. My grandson’s name and the name of the child are being withheld. “Dear Grandma & Grandpa, First, I must explain to the best of my knowledge some facts that the article seems to be misleading about:

• The six doctors who resigned are in fact the entire senior medical staff of the pediatric hemato-oncology department. They treat all types of children’s cancer, not only “blood cancers.” The doctor who treated our child is one of the senior oncologists who resigned.

• This situation does not affect only “30 young patients.” There are many more kids with cancer who are treated in Hadassah at different stages of treatment. There are some 20 in-patients at any given time, and many more out-patients who come every day. Add to these the many children who (like my child) have finished their treatment but require checkups and tests periodically. (Prof. Michael Weintraub personally handles these checkups). All will be drastically affected.

• To the best of my knowledge, Prof. Zeev Rotstein, [Hadassah Medical Organization’s director-general] wants to move kids undergoing bone marrow transplant to the adult bone marrow unit. Prof. Weintraub and his staff feel that this will be harmful for the kids.

I support Prof. Weintraub and the rest of the doctors. I believe that they truly have the well-being of their patients in heart and mind. I know them to be hardworking and caring professionals. They are putting much at stake by resigning, while the easiest course of action for them would be to accept and move on. By resigning, they are putting up a fight for us and our children against a very bad decision.

I believe that a protest should be made against Prof. Rotstein for causing this situation and refusing to rectify it, even though all relevant professionals are opposed. I also believe that a protest should be made against Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman for not allowing the pediatric hemato-oncology department to relocate as a unit to another hospital.

I am still hoping that somehow, things will be able to return to normal. Hoping for the best.” ISRAEL RUBIN Beit Shemesh