Health Ministry Closes and Seals Seven Unlicensed Clinics and Beauty Centres in Hurghada

Egypt's Health and Population Ministry has closed and sealed seven private medical and cosmetic facilities in Hurghada for operating without a licence, according to Sada El-Balad and El-Bawaba News.

Ministry spokesman Dr Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said the campaign was carried out by the private-treatment department of the Red Sea health affairs directorate with other agencies, and that the facilities were found to be working in breach of Law 153 of 2004 on the regulation of private medical establishments. That triggered the legal steps of closure and sealing.

The ministry named three radiology departments:

• the radiology department attached to Al-Hayah Hospital, in the Intercontinental area on Airport Road
• the radiology department at the Europe Medical Center for orthopaedics, El-Nour Street, Kawthar
• the radiology department at Al-Kawthar Hospital, Kawthar district, Airport division

In each of those cases it is the radiology department that was closed, not the hospital.

Four cosmetic and skin clinics were also shut:

• Shiny Skin, in Awwal Hurghada, Gabal Shamali, El-Hadaba
• Beauty Botox Bar, in the old Kawthar district
• the Sarah specialised hair and skin care clinics, Metro Street, Kawthar
• Lucille Beauty Care, Mohamed Saeed Street, Kawthar

Dr Hisham Zaki, who heads the ministry's central administration for non-governmental treatment institutions and licensing, said inspections of private medical facilities are being stepped up across the country to check licences and health requirements, with legal action against those in breach.

The ministry asked the public to report any medical or cosmetic facility suspected of working without a licence through its official channels.

The reports do not say how long the closures last, whether the operators can reopen once licensed, or what happens to patients with appointments booked. For residents and visitors, the practical point is narrower and more useful: of the facilities named, four were cosmetic and skin clinics, the kind of place a visitor might walk into on a whim.