Deputy Fawwaz Abdel Halim Shahin, a member of the People's Assembly from Karmouz, submitted an urgent request to members of the government, criticizing the quality of health services and the poor treatment of patients by physicians and nurses at Alexandria University hospitals. Shahin sent the paper to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif; Dr. Hatem el-Gabali, minister of health; and Hani Helal, minister of higher education and minister of state for scientific research, saying the level of health care in these hospitals threatens the lives of patients. Shahin argued that the physicians, the nursing teams and the directors of the university hospitals treat patients in an inhumane way, fail to provide first aid and emergency services quickly, and fail to save the lives of patients, especially victims of traffic accidents, who sometimes die at the doors of the hospital or in the emergency units. Further, Shahin called on the ministers of higher education and health to improve the monitoring of hospitals and punish directors and physicians who do not implement the proper guidelines for patients with limited incomes. He added that the budgets for these hospitals should be increased so that the hospitals can serve the three surrounding governorates of Alexandria, Beheira and Marsa Matrouh. Shahin also called for the replacement of old medical equipment, which is not able to keep up with the large number of patients received by the hospitals on a daily basis. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
