Air force officer reportedly attacks nurses at public hospital in northern Egypt

In yet another shocking incident that made headlines over the past few days in Egypt, an air force officer has been reportedly involved in attacking nurses at a public hospital in the northern region of the country in the city of Quweisna.

Local news outlets reported that six nurses and three female workers at Quweisna's central hospital in Menoufia province were allegedly attacked by an army pilot and a number of his family members on Thursday, 1 December.

The incident is currently under investigation, while the military prosecution is handling the officer's case, the prosecution said in a statement on Sunday evening.   

The outcome of the investigations has not yet been unveiled.

The incident allegedly began with a pregnant woman who arrived in the evening of that day at the emergency room, suffering from minor bleeding, accompanied by several people, who requested medical attention.

The gynaecologist in charge was in surgery and directed the nurses to run tests and perform an ultrasound. However, the woman's family were reportedly unsatisfied with this solution, demanding the doctor's immediate presence, while insulting the medical staff on duty.

Witnesses said that the officer, the pregnant woman's husband, abused his power by threatening the medical staff.

Shortly afterwards, according to witnesses, they accused the nurses of falling short in handling the case and started attacking the present six nurses and three female workers, inflicting physical injuries on them. A nurse, who was pregnant, sustained a miscarriage as a result.

Egypt has been under military rule for almost five decades now, except for a single year during which the first-ever democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi ran the country before he was ousted by the then-defence minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in July 2013.

A video purportedly documenting the incident has been circulating on social media.

The New Arab could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

A nurse told local independent news outlet Mada Masr that she and her colleagues were dragged on the floor and kicked by the pilot and his family.

"In the beginning, the police refused twice to take our statements. And the hospital management attempted to prevent us from reporting the incident before we were allowed to file nine separate complaints," she said.   

According to local news outlets, a low-ranking police officer arrived at the scene; but upon knowing that a military officer was involved, he left without documenting the incident.

A video circulated on social media that was seemingly shot without the management's knowledge, depicting the hospital director talking to the staff, convincing them in a commanding manner to reconcile and not press charges.

Two days after the incident, the minister of health Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar visited the hospital and the injured nurses and reassured them that the law would be enforced.

"Verbal or physical assault against any medical facility worker is unacceptable and those who trespass will be legally held accountable," Abdel Ghaffar said.

On the same day, the official spokesman to the military forces released a brief statement, saying the military was "closely following what had been raised on social media on the incident,"  vowing to enforce the law without mentioning further details.

The Quweisna incident is one of many similar ones facing the medical staff nationwide. Calls for passing laws that ensure the protection of medical staff, especially at public hospitals have been demanded frequently in recent years.