When the Mustafa Mahmoud Society, named after the physician and novelist who founded it, was established in 1976 it consisted of a mosque and a few small clinics. Today, the few clinics have metamorphosed into a fully fledged medical centre.
Dr Mustafa Mahmoud, now in his 70s, was an active public figure until two years ago when a stroke left him in a coma. Back in the 1970s and 1980s he rallied friends, relatives, and medical colleagues to work on his huge project.
The medical centre today includes all specialisations, and its prices are affordable for most patients. The centre presents its services to everyone who applies regardless of nationality or religion.
Five branches
There are five branches; the first and main one is in the main street of Mohandeseen and offers consultations, analyses and X-rays. All types of surgical procedures take place in the second branch; the third branch is for examinations, analyses, and some small operations. The fourth is located in Sphinx Square, Cairo, and the fifth, in Zamalek, and is exclusively for eye examinations and operations.
All branches have committees that assess deductions for the poor. These start at 10 per cent and increase to 100 per cent according to the circumstances of the patient.
“We receive people from all over the country because we are the only centre that has equipment for brain scans and for muscles. Moreover,” says Dr Soad Abdel-Muizz, head of the society’s surgery section “we have six large, well-equipped operating theatres whereas we had started in 1984 with just one. Now there is also a store for all medicines needed in emergency cases,”
Helmy Abdel-Hafeez, general manager of the main medical centre, says that the centre depends totally on donations for funding. “More than 30 years have gone by, and during these years the number of people in need has increased and so have people’s donations,” he says.