The Minister of Health, Abderrahmane Benbouzid and the Wali of Algiers, Ahmed Maabed inaugurated on Thursday two new medical emergency departments at the University Hospital Centers of Salim Zmirli and Mustapha Pacha.
At the Salim Zmirli Hospital, Mr Benbouzid said that this establishment adjacent to the East-West motorway, which deals with various accidents, “will ease the pressure on other hospitals in the capital, particularly in terms of intensive care beds”.
He called on the medical staff of this establishment, which has several departments equipped with modern radiology and surgical equipment, to preserve them, indicating that the ministry intends to create modern emergency medical services in the various hospitals throughout the country.
Given the particular interest of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, for the health sector, the local authorities of the capital are implementing several projects on the ground, including maternal and child protection services (PMI) and a new hospital with a capacity of 60 beds, said the governor of Algiers.
The support of the sector by the local authorities “has given very good results on the ground”, especially in the fight against serious diseases, by ensuring means and structures of medical and paramedical staff, he added.
At the Mustapha Pacha University Hospital, the second stop of his visit, Minister of Health said that some emergency services within local health establishments suffered from several deficiencies, in the way that the Ministry is working to provide 15 structures out of the 80 located in the capital with the necessary equipment.
In response to a question on the shortages of medicines at the level of the Central Hospital Pharmacy, reported in recent days by the media, Mr Benbouzid explained that the Central Hospital Pharmacy was taking charge of pharmaceutical products, which were available in sufficient quantities for hospitals.
The university hospital has received a large batch of anti-cancer drugs, he said, indicating that the ministry had developed “an orientating guide” for the management of cancer patients.
For his part, the director general of the Mustapha Pacha University Hospital, Khaled Dehia, said that the new medical emergency service would ease the pressure on the institution by 50 to 60%, in addition to the opening of a new road to facilitate traffic and allow access to emergencies in a short time.
The new facility, which will now offer care in various specialties, is provided with modern equipment.
The hospital receives more than 150 emergency cases on a daily basis, including some 50 cases that can be dealt with in neighbouring health establishments, concluded the DG of the same university hospital.
