A new hospital is set to open next month in Beersheba, marking a significant development in expanding healthcare access across southern Israel, N12 reported on Monday.
The upcoming opening follows decades of complaints from residents about the large gaps in medical services between the Negev and the country’s center.
According to N12, no new hospitals have been built in the Negev since Soroka Medical Center was established 70 years ago. In the absence of new facilities, southern residents have faced long waiting times and received lower-quality medical services.
A recent Health Ministry report underscored the problem: while central Israel has five doctors per 1,000 residents, the South has less than half that number—only two. The report also found that 34% of residents in the periphery said they had given up on medical tests or treatments due to long wait times, N12 quoted.
The new facility was developed by the Waxman Group engineering firm and will be operated by Assuta Medical Centers. “This hospital is eight stories tall and covers 17,000 square meters,” said Assuta CEO Gidi Leshetz. “It includes five operating rooms, intensive care units, and hospitalization and recovery wards.”
The hospital will serve the general public
Although the hospital is privately owned, Leshetz emphasized that it will serve the general public. “All health funds will be able to refer patients here,” he said. “It’s a private standard, but a public service.”
However, N12 reported that the new building will not include an emergency room or maternity wards. Instead, it will focus on areas where the need is most urgent in the south: surgery, inpatient care, imaging, and outpatient services.
“Healthcare is a basic right,” said Dr. Avi Yitzhak, chief physician of Assuta Beersheba. “You shouldn’t have to be rich or live in the center to receive fair and high-quality medical care.” He added that the new hospital will also help bring top doctors and trained medical teams to the region, further strengthening the local healthcare system.
The healthcare gap in the South is also evident in the availability of medical equipment. According to N12, in the South, there are just four MRI machines per million residents, compared to seven in the Tel Aviv area. The new hospital promises to offer advanced technology, including the latest CT and MRI scanners.