An attack on a medical staff in Egypt
Social media was outraged in Egypt following news circulated that a number of people attacked medical staff at Quesna Central Hospital in Menoufia Governorate, north of Cairo.
According to local media, and what was circulated on social media in Egypt, a citizen and his family assaulted nurses and hospital workers, which led to the miscarriage of one of them and the injury of others.
The incident began following a citizen came with his wife, who was suffering from bleeding, asking for her aid. However, the nurses informed him that the doctor on duty and his team were busy performing surgery, and asked him to perform X-rays of the wife and some tests and analyzes during the waiting period.
According to the testimony of the nursing department in the hospital, the women accompanying the patient began to threaten the nursing staff, promising to beat them. After that, two men entered the women’s ward and beat the nursing staff.
A number of Quesna residents circulated a video clip showing the assault on the nursing staff.
Ahmed Al-Najjar said: “This disastrous video took place in Quesna Central Hospital in Menoufia, two hours ago. Patients’ families beat nurses and workers with carbage, dragged them to the ground, humiliated them, and broke their hands and feet. One of them was pregnant and fell.
The incident caused great disturbance in the Egyptian street, as it was reported that the citizen involved in the attack was an officer in the armed forces.
Human rights lawyer and member of the National Council for Human Rights, Nihad Abu Al-Qumsan, said, “The aggressor is a pilot officer in the Egyptian army, and he and his family members were referred to the military court.”
For her part, Rania Al-Assal said: “The Egyptian may not rise up for the sake of food or the high price, but the truth that the regime must understand is that we do not accept stupidity.
The defendant’s attorney
Abdul Hamid Al-Sheikh, the lawyer of the party accused of assaulting the nursing staff of Quesna Central Hospital, revealed the details of the incident.
During a telephone conversation with the “Hazrat Al-Citizen” program broadcast on the Egyptian “Al-Hadath Al-Youm” channel, the sheikh explained: “What happened was broadcast in a way that contradicts the truth.
The Sheikh added, “Madame Captain Mustafa was in a private clinic conducting a medical examination for pregnancy, and the doctor recommended that she go to the nearest hospital.”
And she went to the hospital and waited 3 hours without being given any aid.
He added, “My client’s wife was bleeding severely, so Captain Mustafa’s sister made a live broadcast to ask for help and assistance, stressing that his client, who was accused of assault, went to the hospital following seeing the live broadcast that was published, and found his family imprisoned.”
He pointed out that his client’s wife miscarried due to medical negligence, which caused them a shock, especially since they have been waiting for this child for two years, denying that there was a nurse who had an abortion because of them.
Armed forces
For its part, the Armed Forces issued a statement, confirming that it is closely following what was raised on social media regarding the Quesna Central Hospital incident.
The statement added: “The armed forces affirm their full respect for the principle of the rule of law, and called on everyone to investigate accuracy and wait until the investigations are completed.”
The Egyptian Ministry of Health
For his part, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, made a field visit to Quesna Central Hospital in Menoufia Governorate, as part of his follow-up to the consequences of the assault on members of the nursing staff and hospital workers.
During his field visit to Quesna Central Hospital in Menoufia, the Minister of Health expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the medical team, and affirmed that they would not be complacent in preserving their rights.
The Minister of Health told the nursing team: “The state will not allow the dignity of its children to be violated by the medical teams.”
He added, “Verbal or physical abuse of workers in medical facilities is unacceptable, and violators will be held accountable according to the law.”
According to a statement published by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population on its official Facebook page, through which Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, explained that the minister met the medical team in the hospital, spoke with the assaulted nursing staff, and listened to the details of the incident.
Abdul Ghaffar added that the minister confirmed that the transgression once morest the medical teams and workers while performing their duties is completely unacceptable, stressing that no infringement on the medical teams will be allowed, and that he will do his utmost to preserve their rights.
Noting that the House of Representatives is in the process of issuing a medical liability law, which will contribute to establishing clear rules for dealing with medical teams, and preserving patients’ rights.
He explained that the minister assured the nursing team at the hospital that he is closely following the details of the incident since its occurrence, the measures taken, as well as the ongoing investigations in this regard, stressing the ministry’s keenness to protect their rights.
It is noteworthy that immediately following the incident occurred, the Minister instructed the Undersecretary in the Menoufia Governorate to go to the hospital, prepare a detailed report on the incident, its causes and circumstances, and the injuries suffered by members of the nursing staff, and list the hospital’s damages and take legal measures in this regard.
Doctors Syndicate
Dr. Hussein Khairy, Head of the Physicians’ Syndicate, affirmed his full support and the support of the Physicians’ Syndicate Council for the nurses and workers of the Quesna Central Hospital who were brutally assaulted while carrying out their medical work in the hospital by a patient’s escort, which resulted in the injury of five nurses and three hospital workers.
Menoufia Doctors Syndicate
For its part, the Doctors Syndicate in Menoufia confirmed, through a statement it posted on its official Facebook page, that the same people assaulted the nursing staff in the teaching hospital following the Quesna Hospital incident.
And the Doctors Syndicate statement stated, “Dr. Haitham Salama, director of the hospital, explained that he knew that the patient and her family had gone to Shebin El-Kom Teaching Hospital on the same day following visiting Quesna Hospital, and they repeated the attack on the medical staff there. Another report was made in the name of Shebin El-Kom Teaching Hospital.”
image copyright Social media
Menoufia Doctors Syndicate
