When in 1836, for example, an examination was conducted on the conditions of the Tura and Qaṣr al-‘Ainī hospitals in Cairo, it was discovered, among other things, that both hospitals were issuing less meat to their patients than was stipulated by the regulations. When the report was sent to Mehmed Ali he forwarded it to the War Department to take the necessary steps to alleviate the problems. The Deputy Director of the War Department returned the report to the Pasha, however, claiming that this was not the War Department’s business but that of the Health Council. The Pasha refused to accept this pretext, and insisted that the War Department deal with the complaints.

XREF: Connects to the ongoing theme of bureaucratic red tape and administrative breakdown documented across the Egyptian army's institutions (e.g., interdepartmental postal breakdown at loc 943, contaminated bandages at loc 1133). Builds on: "Interdepartmental postal communication broke down despite cross-street proximity."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1134