CAIRO - AT a high-profile ceremony attended by Egypt's Minister of Civil Aviation Ahmed Shafiq and Chairman and CEO of the national carrier EgyptAir Holding Company Hussein Massoud, EgyptAir Medical Services has recently celebrated its comprehensive development plans under the supervision of Abdel-Salam Helmi, the CEO of EgyptAir Medical Services. The ceremony began with showing a documentary film featuring the administrative and medical developments carried out in the hospital over the past years. The screening was followed by honouring the best employees of the company. During the event, Minister Shafiq expressed his appreciation of the progress the hospital has achieved, pointing out that this development is an outcome of cooperation between the chairman of the company and all physicians and medical staff working in the field of the civil aviation. He added that he was eager to provide all possible help to boost the hospital advancement. Meanwhile, Abdel-Salam Helmi, said the first phase of the hospital development cost about LE43 million and it included establishing an emergency department, open-heart surgery, intensive care unit, catheter unit, labs and first aid services. This phase started last June and was completed at the end of 2009. As for the second and last phase, it started early this year at a cost of about LE55 million. He added that the progressive plans consisted of three phases, engineering, medical and administrative. According to him, there have been several obstacles such as the number of beds, estimated at around 200 beds only. “This number is not commensurate with patients' numbers and needs. This has prompted leasing the neighbouring hospital, which comprises around 35 beds and two well-equipped operation rooms.” However, there are plans to build a new hospital on the Cairo Airport Road on an area of 8,000 metres. The official added that a co-operation deal would soon be signed between a French hospital affiliated to the University of Medicine in Paris and EgyptAir Hospital. In the meantime, an Egyptian medical delegation will travel to Paris to discuss the pact and set its signing date.
