Rambam Hospital Nurse Indicted for Indecent Acts Against Patient

The Civil Service Commission's disciplinary division filed a disciplinary indictment today (Sunday) at the Civil Service Disciplinary Tribunal in Jerusalem against Mohammad Sanaallah, a nurse in the urology department at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa.

The indictment accuses him of committing indecent acts against a patient hospitalized in the department. The patient stayed at Rambam between February 5 and 8, 2024, and on the first night of her hospitalization, Sanaallah worked the night shift. According to the indictment, at around 1:00 AM he entered her room, closed the separation curtain, handled her IV drip, and asked if she was suffering from pains. When she replied that her stomach hurt, he instructed her to lower her pants.

At this point, it is claimed, he began pressing on her body under her shirt and repeatedly asked her "Here?". Later, he felt her chest, asked her to also lower her underwear, and touched her genitals. The woman, it was noted, followed his instructions and did not resist, assuming it was an examination intended to locate the source of the pain. The commission claims that Sanaallah did this for sexual stimulation, exploiting his position, and after obtaining the patient's consent through deception regarding the nature of the acts.

The commission attributes to him the offense of an indecent act under circumstances of consent obtained through deception. He is also accused of conduct unbecoming a state employee and damaging state service discipline.

Rambam Hospital stated in response: "Rambam Hospital terminated the employee's employment a few months ago following a disciplinary procedure. We note that the commissioner for the prevention of sexual harassment at the hospital raised all options available to the complainant with her, including filing a police complaint and accompaniment to file the complaint. The complainant chose a disciplinary process which has now been concluded by the State Commission."