POOR patients, who have enjoyed Statefinanced treatment, before being discharged prematurely from hospital to recover or die in the arms of their families, are being pursued by the police. This extraordinary manhunt has come to the knowledge of the families of these ailing patients, after they answered the loud and persistent knocks at the doors of their homes. “An officer and a posse of policemen were blocking the doorway, poised to burst in,” says the brother of a man recovering from heart surgery. Before he could ask what on Earth was going on, the officer demanded firmly: “Where is Mahmoud [the patient]?” “For a moment, we thought that Mahmoud must have done something wrong,” the brother said. “But my brother had been in bed for two months, recovering from major heart surgery and he was too weak to break the law.” The nervous brother recovered when the police officer inquired whether the patient had obtained a ministerial decree allowing him to have State-financed medical treatment. “I heaved a sigh of relief when the police also asked me whether my brother had been admitted to hospital and doctors had operated on him.” But the police suspected that the patient hadn't been operated on at all and their suspicions grew when they were told that Mahmoud was not available at the moment. They insisted on inspecting him immediately. “They thought that my brother was in good health and that the State-financed treatment was part of a scheme to extort money from the Ministry of Health,” Mahmoud's brother continued. “They eventually left, after telling us that Mahmoud must report to the commander of the police station.” This family's ordeal is by no means unique. Thousands of families nationwide have similar stories to tell. The police insist on interrogating the family if the patient dies during or shortly after the operation. This initiative was the brainchild of Parliament Speaker Fathi Sorour, who contacted the Ministry of Interior after dozens of MPs abused a healthcare system that's meant to benefit poor patients, who cannot afford their medical treatment. The scandal broke when Minister of Health Dr Hatem el-Gabali told the nation that MPs were making corrupt deals with private investment hospitals and clinics, abusing a system that costs the State many billions of Egyptian pounds every year. According to the Minister, one MP swindled LE250 million out of the healthcare budget. The deputy, whose name has been withheld for legal reasons, is accused of providing false names to the Specialised Medical Councils (SMC), which are entitled to issue ministerial decrees according free treatment to poor, deserving patients. After obtaining a decree, the MP would conspire with private hospitals to divvy up the cash between them. The Minister of Health claimed that these patients had never been to the private hospitals. A number of medical consultants and employees belonging to the SMC are being investigated by the Public Prosecution about their alleged role in this appalling scam. The Minister of Health then ordered that potential beneficiaries of State-run healthcare be turned away, no matter how serious their condition. The scam took a very interesting turn, when none but the Minister of Health, who owns a big, expensive hospital, was discovered to have joined the queue of poor patients hoping for medical treatment at State expense. According to MP Mohamed el-Omda, the Minister of Health was sent overseas for a check-up and treatment. His fourmonth trip cost the taxpayers LE2 million. The Minister has also disgraced the reputation of medicine in Egypt by refusing to be treated in his own hospital, insisting on flying abroad. Dr el-Gabali's spouse is also said to have travelled abroad for the same reason. Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance was given LE1 million for eye surgery in the US. Poor citizens shook their heads in disbelief when they were told the suspension of the healthcare system was co-planned by none but the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance. In the midst of all the scandalous accusations, poor patients have been told to stay at home until further notice. Many of them are suffering from serious diseases and are likely to lose the battle at any moment. Their families are now making pathetic appeals in the press and on television, begging for financial help from anyone for their dying spouses or children, before it's too late.
