The plan, announced during Minister Abdel-Ghaffar's inspection of the hospital, aligns with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's directives to enhance mental health and addiction treatment services nationwide, according to a health ministry statement.

El-Khanka Hospital was built in 1912 during the reign of Mohamed Ali Pasha over 170 acres.

The hospital and its outpatient clinics currently provide a broad array of psychiatric services to inpatients and the public, including treatment for addiction, harm reduction, and preventive medicine.

The cornerstone for the implementation of the transformation plan will be the construction of a state-of-the-art complex on a 1,400 square metres area.

The plans will increase bed capacity from 1,400 to 1,800 and developing its outpatient clinics.

This new complex will comprise state-of-the-art outpatient clinics, administrative offices, and new accommodations for resident doctors.

The revamped historic hospital will deliver improved therapeutic and preventive services, including treatments for tumours, mental health disorders, and drug addiction.

Tour
 

During the tour, Minister Abdel-Ghaffar inspected outpatient clinics, which currently provide psychiatric care to 300 adults and children daily

In a stop at the hospital's pharmacy, the minister was briefed on a shortage in several medications and contacted the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement to address the issue.

He also directed a feasibility study for the establishment of an emergency ward in the hospital to reduce transferals patients to other hospitals.