Medical Official Condemns Discussion of Sharon's Illness

By Yoram Blachar, Chairman of the Israel Medical Association (Haaretz):

To the best of my knowledge, none of the individuals who have criticized the prime minister's care have had direct access to detailed information. None of these physicians was personally involved in the chain of events, none of them knew who belonged to the attending staff, who the staff consulted in Israel or abroad, the dosage of the medication that was administered, what follow-up was done or who prescribed the treatment at each stage.

Nevertheless, out of utter ignorance, more than a few physicians yielded to the endless wave of rubbish that has inundated the country, played into the hands of media that hunger for information and drama and volunteered to take part in deplorable "expert" appearances. Anyone who engages in speculation related to the medical care and decision-making in this case - particularly when it is done by physicians - is sawing off the branch on which he and other physicians sit. It is inconceivable that a well-known hospital director in central Israel saw fit to speak to the media anonymously and criticized the care given to Sharon. Having seen fit to do so, without having the facts before him, why was he afraid to reveal his identity, thus smearing the good name of other hospital directors?

He is right that we don't have all the information, but was Sharon made better off by such restrictions?

Physicians who anonymously attacked the prime minister's medical treatment were motivated, at best, by a sense of self-importance - but we should not count out the possibility that it was an opportunity to settle accounts with colleagues at Hadassah and to blacken their reputation.

He does not consider the possibility that it was concern over the VIP syndrome and sadness over the needless loss because of decisions that could have been made differently.

There is one way to stop the controversy: come clean and release the medical information as promised. Stop releasing sufficient information only about the attempt to keep him alive in a debilitated state and explain the treatment leading up to his massive brain hemmorrage.