CAIRO: The Ministry of Health ordered the closure of Al-Andalous Hospital in Heliopolis because physicians there reportedly perform illegal abortions. The private practice department at the Ministry of Health discovered that Al-Andalous hospital has been "performing abortions on females under the age of 18, Dr Abdel Rahman Shahin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, said. Abortions are illegal in Egypt except when necessitated by medical complications. "We [the Ministry of Health] transferred two of the hospital's physicians who conduct illegal abortions to the public prosecution office for investigation, Shahin said. The ministry reportedly discovered several other violations in the hospital, which is said to hire unqualified staff. "It does not have a qualified nursing staff. None of the nurses who work in the hospital have a nursing degree, neither do they have the medical license to work as nurses, Shahin told Daily News Egypt. This is not the first time the Health Ministry has cracked down on Al-Andalous. According to Shahin, the ministry has issued three decrees to shut down the hospital, one on Dec. 16, another on Dec. 21 and a third one on Dec. 29. However, hospital administration ignored all three orders and continued to offer medical services, he said. Hospital administration was not available for comment. During their last visit on Jan. 10, the ministry's private practice department found the hospital functioning normally despite orders to close.
