Aswan hospital restricts free emergency X-rays defying PM decree

Aswan University Hospital has restricted free emergency X-rays strictly to mass casualty victims, compelling individual accident patients to pay and sparking accusations of violating a binding state emergency decree.

The directive circumvents Prime Minister Decree No. 1063 of 2014, which mandates 48 hours of free emergency care across all public and university medical facilities. Rights advocates warn the decision sets a dangerous precedent, shifting institutional budget shortfalls directly onto vulnerable patients requiring urgent treatment.

Issued on Sept. 1 by Ashraf Maabad, the hospital’s executive director, the internal order forces individual accident victims to pay X-ray fees directly to the facility treasury. Exceptions are granted only if the attending emergency physician deems a patient critical and demonstrably unable to pay.

Under the 2014 cabinet decree, state and university hospitals are strictly prohibited from refusing emergency care or transferring patients prior to full stabilization. The state is legally required to cover all financial costs incurred during the 48-hour emergency window through the state-funded treatment budget.

Defending the policy, Maabad told Al Manassa that non-open fractures and altercation injuries are not life-threatening, arguing the measure curbs the “misuse” of emergency classifications. He cited a 400 million Egyptian pound (about $7.7 million) debt owed to the Unified Procurement Authority and claimed staff abuse had pushed free X-ray rates to 80%.

Dr. Alaa Ghannam, right to health officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, rejected the hospital’s financial defense as an illegal circumvention of state law. He emphasized that emergency care mandates apply to the urgency of the injury itself, regardless of whether it stems from an individual or mass-casualty event.

A senior Ministry of Health official confirmed to Al Manassa that closed fractures legally constitute emergency cases eligible for free stabilization and imaging under official guidelines defined in Sept. 2025 by ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar. The official added that oversight of emergency compliance within university hospitals falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Higher Education.