Egypt’s Health and Population Minister, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, has ordered an urgent investigation into the violations he witnessed during his visit to Al-Zaytoun Specialist Hospital in Cairo on Sunday. The violations included the absence of security and hygiene staff, the underutilization of emergency beds, and the neglect of some broken medical devices.
Abdel Ghaffar inspected the intensive care rooms, children’s incubators, the dialysis unit, and the hotel suites in the hospital. He found that the number of incubators was insufficient for the demand and that the dialysis unit violated the safe storage systems by stacking packages of medical supplies in the corridors. He instructed them to increase the number of incubators and to follow the safe storage systems in the dialysis unit.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, Abdel Ghaffar also checked the availability of medicines, medical supplies, and blood bags for all groups. He directed the development of an urgent plan to upgrade the efficiency and development of all hospital devices and departments, as well as non-medical equipment.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, said that the minister also visited the hospital’s pharmacy and outpatient clinics, and reviewed the work schedules of the medical teams. He noticed that there was an excess of workers in the pharmacy and dental clinics compared to the actual needs of the hospital.
The hospital has 207 beds, distributed among internal, intensive, and intermediate care, dialysis, and emergency departments. The occupancy rate in internal departments ranges between 80 to 85% per month, intensive care ranges between 90 to 95%, and the average number of surgeries is about 400 cases per month.
