CAIRO: A report released by the Ministry of Health last week revealed the death of approximately 23,167 patients out of a total of 3 million patients who underwent treatment in ministry hospitals during the past year, with child deaths topping the number at some 8,000 deaths. A total of 400,459 children were treated to these hospitals, the ministry reported. The report also pointed to the high mortality rate among patients undergoing cosmetic, or plastic, surgery. According to the ministry, 1,138 deaths occurred from a total of 7,904 patients who underwent these operations. Around 5,000 patients died as a result of the medicine they were given, while the number of deaths in intensive care units was around 2,000. While the mortality rate in the country decreased, the report, prepared by the sector of curative medicine noted that cases of suicide and deaths among patients with psychiatric and neurological problems amounted to 29 cases from a total of 3,226. The number of deaths among patients due to accidents also rose due to what the ministry said was poor training and poor hospital equipment. In related news, the annual report from the World Health Organization (WHO) for 2009 revealed the deaths of 700,000 Egyptians annually due to several diseases. Topping that list was heart disease, cancer and traffic fatalities, which was classified by the report as one of the main factors for death among Egyptians. BM
