Egyptian Health ministry checking on hospitals' gratis emergency services

The Health Ministry said it is making sure that all hospitals are offering duty-free medical services to the patients of emergency sections in implementation of the health minister\s decision.
Under the decision, the hospitals to which patients of emergency cases are being transferred to should inform within six hours the ministry's Central Emergency Room in case it has no room at the Intensive Care section so that it can provide an alternative hospital, the ministry said.
Ambulances should transfer the patients to the nearest governmental hospital within range and in case there was no nearby one, they should be admitted to any other hospital, the ministry said.
The prime minister has earlier issued a decision, obliging all university, governmental, private and investment hospitals to treat at the expense of the State the patients of emergency cases for 48 hours.
After that, the patients should be treated at their expenses or can move to another governmental hospital they want.
The government allocated 2.7 billion pounds for the treatment of emergency cases. The health minister also earmarked one billion pound from the ministry's budget for the same purpose.