Abukbeer Central Hospital in Sharqia Governorate has become a grazing land for cattle and a shelter for dogs and cats, and is in a state of dysfunction. Many people have complained about the poor condition and lack of cleanliness at the hospital, where for example employees throw medical refuse into public dustbins, threatening ordinary people with infection.
Ramadan el-Zanati from Abukbeer said that he went to the hospital at 3 PM with a patient but could not find even one doctor available to deal with the emergency situation.
Mustafa Abdel Al, member of the local council, said that he frequently visits the hospital due to the many complaints received by the council about the poor condition of the hospital. He added that each time he arrives at the hospital he finds no doctors and is confronted by a state of uncleanliness.
Minister of Health Hatem el-Gabali visited the hospital last April and he fired the director because of the hospital’s poor condition, however since that time nothing has changed, according to Abdel Al.
The head of the city’s council, Ahmed Abdel Reheem, pointed out that the council had appointed a fact finding committee which reached the conclusion that the hospital suffers from a shortage of doctors, a lack of cleanliness, and troubles with the sewage system. In addition, medical waste is being dumped in the public dustbins outside the hospital.
Deputy director of the hospital, Dr. Yousri el-Shabrawi, denied that the hospital disposes of its refuse in an unsafe way, saying that the hospital has adequate room to deal with medical waste. He did however admit a lack of doctors in some specialties at the hospital, and held the ambulance department – which is not under his control – responsible for the presence of animals on the premises of the hospital.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
