CAIRO: Egypt s largest cancer hospital for children in El Sayeda Zeinab opened its doors Saturday to six in-patients and 22 out-patients, paving the way for the grand opening scheduled to take place in 18 months. Mainly funded by donations and the Children's Center Hospital Foundation, the hospital is touted as the best-equipped medical center for caner treatment in Egypt, marked by its avant-garde architecture decorated with colorful walls, non-porous Terrazzo floor and a patient-friendly atmosphere. It is one of the largest hospitals in the world . with a capacity to admit 400 to 600 patients for examination per day, Sherif Abouelnaga, the vice chairman and director of academic and research affairs of the Children s Cancer Hospital, told The Daily Star Egypt. "We are can also receive 200 to 250 out-patients for their required treatment daily. Plans to renovate the area surrounding the hospital are underway, with a view to establish an academic center to train hospital staff and build a residence to accommodate the families of patients outside Cairo. Azza Oura, director of business development at the Children s Cancer hospital, said the soft opening will test the flow of patients coming in every day. The hospital is equipped with about 180 beds, 28 out-patient clinics, seven operating rooms and four marrow transplant rooms. We thought of operating some of the units as a trial, but by the coming 18 months, we are expecting the hospital to be fully operational, said Oura. The in-patients unit is composed of three halls, each including 10 fully-equipped rooms as well as a large play- room full of toys and entertainment for the children. I came to the hospital to receive my first treatment on Saturday . and I loved the hospital. The services are excellent and the people here are very friendly, said 14-year-old Sherif Mubarak, the first to receive treatment at the hospital. Olive Wahoush, director of nursing in the in-patients unit, told The Daily Star Egypt, I am expecting us to deliver very high quality, child-friendly care. I hope that we would grow slowly but surely. She said the hospital includes a lot of excellent staff and expects that within a year it will be fully operational and doing everything possible to help children live well with cancer, and hopefully recover. We took in seven children on the first day after the inauguration. In fact some of them had significant investigations, but the first child went home yesterday . he was doing very well and the tests were positive, said Wahoush. Abd El Baky, Sudfa, Saksun and Mahrus occupied an area of 13 buildings needed for the metro; the remaining eight buildings would be torn down to make a garden, said Salah El Sayed Mohamed, the owner of a feteer shop whose father died of a heart attack when he heard the news that he will lose the shop he built in 1965. Mohamed refused the compensation of LE 40,000 for a shop that he believes is worth a LE 500,000. On Sunday he sent a telegraph to President Mubarak and the public prosecutor calling for help. Shops in the area are worth LE 12,000 per meter, Mohamed alleged. Musa d Mahmoud, another shop-owner and father of four, will now have to take his children out of school to work. I am 50 years now, where will I get a job? he said. Mohamed, who was very angry, accused the government of being a colonialist government. We pay taxes, insurance, we help the country, we contribute to public interest, give people good services. Just tell one of those people in high places to donate LE 10 for public interest and they'd say no, he said. If they need the place urgently, they should give us our rights. Does public interest mean leaving people on the street? Hesham Sakr, the owner of another cheese shop told The Daily Star Egypt. The owners of 13 shops had filed a lawsuit at the State Council against the General Authority for Tunnels objecting to the demolition order. According to a copy of the minutes of the court session obtained by The Daily Star Egypt, the court had ruled on July 4 that the buildings will not be evacuated before a special committee convenes and the court decides on July 22 whether or not the contested area is necessary for the project. Despite the court ruling, the demolition already began. At time of press the tunnel authority could not be reached for comment. The Daily Star Egypt repeatedly tried to contacted the MP representing Al Wayly district, Shereen Fouad, and the head of Al Wayly district authority, General Hamdy Salem, but they were not available for an interview.
