CAIRO - A

state of sadness and resentment prevailed in the medical sector in Egypt after the death of the young doctor, "Nabil Adel Sedar" - a resident surgeon - after suffering a severe heart attack while working at "Benha" University Hospital in Qalyubia Governorate, north of Cairo, according to the hospital's statement.

The death of the young doctor comes a few weeks after the sudden death of Dr. Mai Rafea, an anesthesiologist at the Oncology Institute in Damanhour in Beheira, during her work, and a few months after the death of the doctor, Ahmed Samir Abdel Azim, an assistant teacher of general surgery at the Menoufia Faculty of Medicine.

A number of members of the Medical Syndicate warned of the continued fall of "young doctors" while performing their work in university hospitals, which they described as a "tragedy", due to mental stress and pressure of working hours.

His colleagues missed him, so they searched for him to find him lying in the bathroom and he died of a heart attack.. The death of the surgeon, Nabil Adel, while working at Benha University Hospital pic.twitter.com/Vmp143bDon

- Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) August 15, 2022

martyr of duty

Benha Hospital issued a statement to mourn Cedar, in which he confirmed that he was one of the best doctors in the hospital, and that his death came while carrying out his duties and work towards saving patients, as the pain of the crisis attacked him and he died on the spot.

The Medical Syndicate also issued a statement calling the late doctor a "martyr of duty."

Sedar's colleagues explained that he was newlywed and was known for his efficiency, and he never failed to make any effort in the vascular unit, which is one of the most difficult departments in the hospital, especially in dealing with patients, and he wished to be a pioneer in the field of "diabetic foot and blood vessels."

young people fall

The sudden death of the young doctor is not unique, but has been repeated over the past year, the latest of which was the death of the young doctor Mai Rafea, an anesthesiologist at the Oncology Institute in Damanhour, who passed away while performing her work.

According to what was reported by Masrawy, Dr. Mai finished - minutes before her death - of anesthetizing 3 patients and entering them into the operating rooms at the Damanhour Cancer Institute, and despite feeling very tired, she held herself and waited until their operations ended and they exited, and after reassuring that they woke up naturally, she went to Doctors took a short break, but she passed away.

Last May, the young doctor, Ahmed Samir Abdel Azim, an assistant teacher of general surgery at the Menoufia College of Medicine, died of a severe heart attack after completing several operations in the hospital.

Warning and study

Members of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate have warned against the continued fall of young doctors in this way. A member of the Syndicate's council, Ihab El-Taher, said that the recurrence of sudden deaths of young doctors needs a scientific study.

Al-Taher stressed that the assignment to work for long hours that may last for days in some university hospitals cannot be neglected, in addition to the nervous and psychological pressure as a result of practicing the dangerous profession.

The former representative of the Medical Syndicate, Mona Mina, said that the sudden death of young doctors after continuous work has become a recurring phenomenon that cannot be ignored, especially in university hospitals where work continues for continuous days.

Mina called for limiting the number of continuous working hours for shifts in university hospitals, denouncing the fact that the deaths of young doctors continue in this way without any reaction.

Ongoing crisis

Egypt suffers from a severe shortage of doctors, with many of them heading to work in the Arab Gulf countries and Europe.

At the end of last February, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi commented on the emigration of many doctors abroad, pointing out that the salaries they receive in Egypt do not suit them.

Last April, the Medical Syndicate warned of the continued reluctance of doctors to work in the government sector, as well as their increasing efforts to migrate outside Egypt, calling on the Prime Minister and the concerned authorities to intervene to correct errors and improve the health system on all its sides.

In a report, the Medical Syndicate revealed the resignation of more than 11,000 doctors from working in the government sector since 2019, stressing that it had monitored the resignation of about 1,000 doctors within 3 months of this year.

Under the title "The Physicians' Syndicate is sounding the alarm," the Syndicate warned of the obstacles to the stability of the health system, expressing its hope that this report will be the subject of a study to overcome the health system's difficulties, including the severe shortage of doctors.