The doctors syndicate rejected a Health Ministry resolution to demolish the Abbasiya Psychiatric Hospital and build a replacement elsewhere.
“We will file lawsuits against the ministry here and abroad if need be,” said syndicate president Hamdi al-Sayed, pointing to the historical significance of the hospital and its location.
“The ministry may use part of the premises for other projects if necessary,” Al-Sayed added. “But to bring it all down is out of the question.”
Dr. Mostafa Fahmy, secretary-general of the Egyptian Psychiatric Association, agreed with Al-Sayed. “We will call on president Hosni Mubarak to intervene personally in this matter,” he said.
“The hospital treats 80,000 patients per year and is a pivotal training center,” Fahmy said. “It is also 117 years old and has great historical significance.”
“Psychiatric patients are not outcasts who can be put in some hospital in the desert, isolated from society,” he said. He claimed the government intends to sell the property for LE1.2 billion so businessmen can build shopping malls.
Hospital doctor Mohamed Rakha said the hospital serves patients from Cairo and Giza. “Demolishing it would hurt the patients and the 1500 doctors and nurses working in it as well,” he said. “It has a nursing school that graduates 600 students each year.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
