A State Comptroller report published on Sunday says Israel is not ready for population aging and found major gaps in the health system’s planning for demographic growth and an older society. The audit says that since a government decision on the issue in 2015, the number of medical staff and the level of medical infrastructure have not been adjusted to keep pace with population growth.
The report warns this will lead to a sharp deterioration in care for elderly Israelis. It projects that the number of geriatric doctors per 1,000 people aged 75 and older will fall from 1.07 in 2020 to 0.15 in 2040, a decline of about 85% in specialist availability.
It also says the number of geriatric hospital beds per 1,000 people aged 75 and older will drop from 41.7 beds in 2020 to 19.3 beds in 2040. The report further says the share of national spending on elderly-related issues within Israel’s health budget is expected to rise between 2018 and 2050.