Ashraf Sadek Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018 - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Wednesday inaugurated via video conferencing a number of developmental projects. The projects opened included a new military hospital in Menofia governorate, a national medical institute in Damanhour, an ophthalmological research institute in Giza, and a number of Japanese-style schools. In Shebien el-Kom, President Sisi opened the Menofia Military Hospital, which had been built, equipped and staffed in accordance with the latest healthcare standards. However, President Sisi, who said that the new facility was an addition to the medical care facilities nationwide, demanded a full report about an incident in which three patients had died at the kidney dialysis unit of a Sharqia hospital on Friday, September 14. President Sisi, who said that any mistake in the medical section would be impermissible, directed the Minister of Health, Dr Hala Zayed, to immediately form an ad hoc technical committee, whose members would be in-charge of checking the kidney dialysis units in Sharqia governorate. If the ongoing probe into the incident substantiated that negligence or human error was the cause of the three deaths, the wrong-doer would be held accountable in accordance with the law, the president said. He said that the medical authorities concerned should take extra precautions to prevent the recurrence of the Friday incident. "Such steps should not be applied in hospitals alone. They must be enforced in other facilities such as schools too, where the technicians should make sure that electric wires are in perfect shape," President Sisi said. The new military hospital in Shebien el-Kom, which will admit army personnel, their family members as well as civilians, will provide top-quality medical treatment in its in-patient and out-patient clinics, which had been provided with the best medical equipment and instruments. The Chairman of the Military Supplies and Logistics Authority, Major General Salah Helmi Abdel Qader, told President Sisi that the hospital was a timely addition to the national grid of healthcare and medical care facilities. Among its many development projects, the authority – in collaboration with the Ministry of Health – has launched a set of projects for developing Government-run hospitals and polyclinics at the governorate level, Maj Gen Abdel Qader said. In addition, the military hospitals – on the direct orders of President Sisi – have been assisting the work of the Ministry of Health through admitting civilians at their in-patient and out-patient clinics, Maj Gen Abdel Qader said. The military hospitals were also sending out medical teams to provide basic health services to citizens living in remote and border areas, he said. The Armed Forces, he said, have built and equipped ten centres for cancer treatment in a number of governorates in order to reduce pressure on similar centres in big cities. Currently, the Armed Forces were building and equipping new military hospitals and polyclinics in three governorates while upgrading three medical facilities in Cairo and Giza, Maj Gen Abdel Qader said. In the field of manpower development and creating competent medical workers, the army recently opened its own faculty of medicine and nursing schools which accept male and female secondary school over-achievers. "The building of a strong nation requires healthy citizens, who are able to work and contribute to their homeland. All this necessitates the presence of a top quality healthcare system that is being operated in accordance with the highest levels of competence and development," he said. Later on, President Sisi opened via video conference, the upgraded National Medical Institute, which was built in 1963 in Damanhour. The Institute, which occupies an area of 33,000 square metres, has been expanded and provided with advanced medical equipment with the assistance of the Armed Forces, Health Minister Dr Zayed told the president. Besides its main in-patient and out-patient clinics, the 856-bed facility includes two main emergency wards and a set of operating theatres for critical and endoscopic surgeries, Dr Zayed said. A new set of Intensive Care Units (ICUs), medical laboratories, and radiology units have been added to the institute, which would oversee more than 836,000 cases per annum, she said. The Damanhour Medical Institute will provide new curative medical services to Beheira governorate residents. These included open heart surgeries, organ and cornea implant surgeries, and orthopoedic surgeries, the minister of health said. President Sisi also inaugurated the Giza Memorial Institute for Ophthalmological Research, which will provide advanced training and treatment for eye surgeons and patients at the same time. The institute, which has 20 well equipped eye clinics, was founded in 1913 in Assiut governorate and later relocated to Giza by famous British eye doctor, Arthur Ferguson MacCallan, who discovered a cure for trachoma in Egypt, Dr Zayed said. The institute boasts a museum that showcases a collection of rare eye surgical instruments and equipment as well as a priceless collection of documents about the history of ophthalmology in Egypt and other countries, she said. President Sisi called on citizens to participate in a nationwide anti-hepatitis C campaign, which the Ministry of Health would launch next month in nine governorates. The campaign would involve free medical surveys to detect and treat the hepatitis C in more than 50 million persons. It aims to make Egypt a hepatitis C-free country in three years. Later, President Sisi opened a number of Japanese-style schools, which will be ready to receive pupils as of next Saturday. The schools are located in Ismailia, Menofia, Giza, and Alexandria governorates. President Sisi said that it took his government five years to transfer the Japanese schooling system to Egypt and build, equip, and staff the first batch of the new schools in those governorates. The state vision for upgrading education, vocational training and scientific research is part of the Egypt 2030 Vision that the government is now pursuing to promote sustainable development. The Japanese-style schools aim to strengthen, develop and refine the skills of pupils and students and encourage their innovative and creative skills. Education Minister Tarek Shauoqi told President Sisi that the ministry had launched a strategy for developing the overall education system. The strategy incorporates improving the pre-university education system, developing teaching skills, applying modern teaching techniques, using modern and computerised equipment in classes, and setting up advanced systems to evaluate and monitor student performance, Minister Shauoqi said.
