CAIRO: Three Egyptian doctors who work in the UK are currently in Egypt to train physicians and nurses at a number of hospitals around the country, the Ministry of Health said. As opposed to theoretical capacity building, these trainings will give physicians hands-on experience in the operating room, the doctors said. In a press conference Saturday, the ministry's spokesperson Abdel Rahman Shahin welcomed the three doctors who will be providing the training: surgeons Mahmoud Latif and Mohamed Al-Sayed and anesthesiologist Magdy Bassiliayo. "[We] will only provide instructions while the doctors and nurses conduct operations under [our] supervision, Latif explained. In response to a question from Daily News Egypt about how closely ethics codes are followed in Egyptian hospitals, Bassiliayo said there is "a problem in the implementation of medical ethics codes in Egypt. "I call on the Doctors' Syndicate to set up a special committee to oversee training and monitor the practices of doctors and nurses at different hospitals, Bassiliayo said, adding that this would require funding and careful planning. Shahin, on the other hand, said that "Egypt is one of the few countries that has a very strong and active Doctors' Syndicate, adding that its chairman Hamdy El-Sayyed "is doing his best to supervise the work of physicians in Egypt. According to Shahin, El-Sayyed has already established a "moral committee headed by Dr Shawki Haddad, a prominent surgeon in Kasr Al-Aini Hospital. Shahin and Bassiliayo said that nowadays, lawyers are making a business out of suing physicians for malpractice; a phenomenon that they said "began in the USA and has spread worldwide. The panelists said that the rise in lawsuits has led some surgeons to switch to non-surgical practices to avoid dealing with lawsuits, which sometimes are mere accusations. Commenting on the recent deaths caused by defective oxygen tanks in a number of Egyptian hospitals, Latif said that this was not the fault of doctors or patients. Patients have to work at the hospital with the best facilities related to their specific medical condition, Latif said, while doctors should be "honest with patients and tell them if they should go to another hospital or refer them to another doctor that is best suited to handle their case. Meanwhile, Bassiliayo said there is always a risk when patients undergo general anesthesia. The risk of a patient dying after surgery has declined in the UK from one in 10,000 to one in a million, he added, "however, we have not reached this percentage in Egypt, but we are getting there. The three doctors will provide training sessions at Om El-Masreyeen Hospital in Cairo and Helwan Public Hospital as well as a number of public hospitals in Luxor and Aswan. "The doctors came here because they love their country and want to help. .We plan to continue inviting doctors to Egypt to enhance the quality of our medical services, Shahin concluded.
