Health Ministry reverses sanction of As-Salam International Hospital: The Health Ministryis backing down from a one-month disciplinary closure of the As-Salam International Hospital imposed on Thursday. The order followed a complaint by an emergency patient’s family that the hospital had required them to sign an EGP 500,000 IOU to initiate treatment, Ahram Online reports. Sources at the hospital tell us that As-Salam staff had in fact begun what was a successful 15-hour surgery to reattach the patient’s arm before discussing payment with the family, as is standard practice at private-sector hospitals. The ministry first imposed the sanction when the family claimed the patient had been denied medical treatment until an IOU was signed.

The ministry reversed the decision by Saturday evening, with senior Health Ministry official Ali Mahroos saying that the reversal follows an investigation that found the hospital had complied with regulations, El Watan reports. The ministry is expected to issue another statement on the matter today.