Egypt’s Medical Syndicate has placed the blame for the rising number of physician deaths to the coronavirus outbreak squarely on the Health Ministry, citing its negligence and inaction in a Sunday statement which listed the current number of medical staff deaths at 19.
The syndicate went as far as to warn of legal procedures against everyone involved in these deaths.
It accused the Health Ministry of failing to perform tests early on to diagnose virus cases among medical staff, and failing to carry out tests on those in contact with positive cases.
The ministry also failed to provide quick enough treatment for the infected personnel, alongside not providing them with the appropriate personal protection garb.
It demanded the ministry remedy these failings and provide a better treatment plan for medical staff, alongside granting them better forms of personal protection and supplies such as medicine.
The statement requested that training be provided on how to deal with coronavirus in hospitals, and to perform smear tests on suspected cases and those known to be in contact with positive cases.
These medical staff combat the coronavirus out of a sense of national duty which they perform with the utmost seriousness, the statement said, adding that they therefore deserve better treatment from the Health Ministry.
All physicians must exercise their right to report any issues to the syndicate regarding means of protection or an inability to treat coronavirus cases, it stressed.
The Medical Syndicate on May 13 called for the allocation of a quarantine hospital specifically for physicians and nurses, due to increased delays in transferring medical professionals infected with coronavirus over the past few days.
Because of the delays, the syndicate said, medical professionals were slow to receive the medical care that is necessary to ensure a speedy recovery and a quick return to their work helping to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
