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Algeria's health ministry orders hospitals to justify any refusal of transferred patients

2 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Algeria's health ministry orders hospitals to justify any refusal of transferred patients — Photo : El Khabar

ALGIERS — Algeria's Ministry of Health has told public hospitals that they may not turn away a transferred patient without a stated medical or organizational reason, in a memo meant to make transfers between hospitals faster and more accountable.

The memo, dated 27 October and made public on Sunday, was sent by Health Minister Mohamed Seddik Aït Messaoudene to the regional health directors and to the heads of public health institutions. It builds on earlier instructions issued in 1998, 2006 and 2020 and on a memo of September 2025.

The central rule is that a shortage of beds in one department is not enough to refuse a patient. The receiving institution must first assess its overall capacity to admit the case. When it cannot, it must give a reasoned reply as quickly as possible.

The sending institution carries its own duties. It must confirm that the transfer is medically justified, obtain the prior agreement of the receiving institution, prepare the patient and arrange medical transport.

Each institution must also name a permanent officer to coordinate transfers, exchange information and follow patients' admission. Regional health directors are to hold regular meetings with their counterparts in other provinces so that patients are directed to facilities with the necessary capacity.

University hospitals, the memo says, should help treat complex cases referred from other provinces, drawing on their multidisciplinary teams, experience and technical equipment, within their mission and available resources.

The directorate general of health services and hospital reform, working with the directorate of information systems, will set out implementation details where needed.

The rules aim to replace informal arrangements between hospitals with a documented and accountable procedure for patients who need care outside their home province.

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