State Comptroller to probe Eli Hurvitz's death

The daughter of former CEO and chairman of Teva Eli Hurvitz alleges negligence at Sheba Medical Center.

Sources inform ''Globes'' that State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has opened an investigation into allegations by the family of the late Eli Hurvitz over negligence by Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer. Hurvitz, who served as CEO and later as chairman of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA), died in November of cancer, while hospitalized at Sheba.

At Eli Hurvitz's funeral, his daughter, Dr. Vered Shalev-Hurvitz, startled the mourners by leveling serious accusations against Sheba Medical Center and its staff. "In your final hours, you saw the ugly side of the country you loved, and it haunts me. For hours, you waited for a doctor to arrive at the ward while your condition deteriorated," she said. "You suffered humiliation and threats from a heartless nurse. A long line of doctors finally turned up, but it was too late."

Dr. Shalev-Hurvitz raised her charges with Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman and with Lindenstrauss when he met her and her mother, Lior Shalev, last week. After the meeting, Lindenstrauss asked Litzman to conduct a preliminary inquiry and to obtain information about the circumstances of Eli Hurvitz's death.

"My office has launched a preliminary inquiry into the complaint of Dr. Vered Shalev-Hurvitz about the death of her father, the late Eli Hurvitz," said Lindenstrauss in a letter to the Ministry of Health. He added that, following the initial inquiry, he would decide whether to conduct an in-depth investigation into the conduct of the health system over Shalev-Hurvitz's accusations, and into the waiting times for medical treatment.

Hurvitz's family has also filed a complaint with Ministry of Health Ombudsman Prof. Haim Hershko, who opened an inquiry into the specific case.

Ministry of Health officials said that the Office of the State Comptroller had made it clear that it was not investigating a claim of medical negligence or the medical treatment itself, as it does not have the authority to do so. The sources said that the inquiry would look at the hospital's procedures and conduct in the treatment of its patients, the shortage of hospital beds and hospitalization conditions and the harm they cause patients, waiting times for critical treatments, and other issues. The sources said that Hurvitz's daughter and granddaughter had not filed any specific complaint about Eli Hurvitz, but only made general allegations about the health system.

Sheba Medical Center declined to comment on the report.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 27, 2011

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011

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