Question 1

Can a permit be requested while the patient is in hospital?

Accepted Answer

You can start the process during the hospital stay, but a permit is not granted for the hospitalisation period itself. No permit is given to a patient staying in an institution that provides nursing care, such as a hospital or rehabilitation centre, except day hospitalisation, and a stay of more than 60 days cancels an existing permit.

There is a dedicated track for a patient about to be discharged:
• The application includes the form for a patient about to be discharged from an institution (Form E) and a medical report from the institution's physician stating the diagnoses, the need for continuity of care and the expected discharge date.
• The professional committee decides, and the permit is granted for up to three months. It allows employing only a worker already in Israel, who starts working in the patient's home after discharge.
• To extend it, the usual conditions must be met and an application filed under the appropriate track, with a discharge letter from the institution.

Give the Authority full and accurate information about the hospitalisation, as it checks this and may request a discharge letter. We will gladly prepare the application with you before discharge.

Question 2

Does the caregiver keep working if the patient is hospitalized or moves to a nursing home?

Accepted Answer

During a temporary hospital stay the caregiver may continue to be employed, subject to the permit terms, and hospitalisation alone is not a dismissal. If the patient moves to a nursing institution, or stays in hospital for more than 60 days, the permit is cancelled and the worker may no longer be employed. The patient or family must notify the agency and the Authority's nursing division within 7 days. In that case the worker is entitled to the rights of a dismissed worker.

Question 3

What documents are attached to a permit request when the patient is about to be discharged from hospital?

Accepted Answer

In this case the online permit application is also accompanied by the form for a patient about to be discharged from an institution (Form E, "Tofes Heh") and a medical report from the institution's physician stating the diagnoses, the need for continuity of care and the expected discharge date. The application is signed by the patient or, if the patient cannot do so, by a first-degree relative or legal guardian, and an application fee is paid. Note that, as a rule, no permit is issued to a patient staying in an institution that provides nursing care, such as a hospital or nursing home, except sheltered housing without nursing services or day hospitalization. The application is therefore made ahead of discharge home. We will gladly help you prepare the documents.

Question 4

What happens to the care benefit and the permit when the patient moves to a nursing home or has a long hospital stay?

Accepted Answer

Care benefit: according to National Insurance, a resident of an institution is eligible only if staying in a ward for independent or frail residents supervised by the Welfare Ministry, or in an institution whose upkeep is mostly paid by the resident. There is no eligibility in a nursing ward, a ward for the cognitively impaired, or a geriatric hospital. Someone moving to a nursing home fills in a form confirming residence in an institution and sends it to the branch. In a general hospital, personal care services continue for the first 30 days, and eligibility resumes after discharge. The permit: if the patient moves to an institution providing nursing care, or stays in hospital more than 60 days, the permit is cancelled and the worker may no longer be employed. The agency and the Authority's Nursing Division must be notified within 7 days.