Al-Masry Al-Youm exclusively reported yesterday on repeated cases of death inside the intensive care unit of Fayoum public hospital over the past few weeks. Such report has prompted quick and strong reactions by the governorate and the Ministry of Health. Fayoum Governor Galal Mustafa Said immediately phoned Health Ministry First Undersecretary Nasser Rasmi and asked him to send a top-level medical team from the ministry to investigate into the deaths and draft a detailed report. The governor will take an adequate decision according to the report itself. Meanwhile, the death toll inside the hospital's intensive care unit rose to 18 yesterday after three more cases were reported. An official source at the hospital had affirmed that 15 people had passed away inside the unit from 3 to 5 February. In a letter to Al-Masry Al-Youm, the governor said the ministry team arrived at the hospital yesterday and started working immediately. He added that if negligence were proven, those responsible would be referred to the Public Prosecution. The committee unveiled the names of 37 additional unreported deceases last January at the same unit. Al-Masry Al-Youm has obtained a list with all these names, including the dates of their arrival and their death. An official source said that the intensive care unit had no specialists on February 4 at night, when nine people died. According to the source, other doctors were called in from another hospital but were not familiar with medical ventilators, traumas and intensive care unit patients suffering from clots, cerebral hemorrhages and respiratory diseases. MP Amr Aboul Saoud issued an urgent statement calling on Health Minister Hatem el-Gabaly to take deterring measures concerning these deaths.
