Censu Moran Regional Health Centre: A living project | Jo Etienne Abela

Jo Etienne Abela is health minister

I often wonder and marvel at the sheer determination of our forebears. A tiny country fresh out of independence, soon to become a fledgling republic vying for attention in the middle of an oft troubled sea, at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. To say that it must not have been easy, would be mocking their memory, their fortitude, their resourcefulness. Because, let us face it, they must have toiled to make ends meet. Vincent Moran, a medical doctor, was a stalwart of the political landscape of the time. How he managed to stomach the health ministry portfolio for more than 10 long years is beyond my comprehension but make no mistake—this man was a crucial architect of our national health service as we know it.

He expanded St Luke’s Hospital, delivered the Karin Grech extension and staffed them. He was a general practitioner to boot and put in endless hours of top doctoring in his community in the south. As if that was not quite enough, on the international stage he pushed and helped develop the concepts of primary care and care of older persons which are today’s key mainstays. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the brand-new regional health hub in the south bears his name.

Holistic service provision

Censu Moran Regional Health Centre is a €50 million project which was delivered by the Foundation for Medical Services (FMS). It is the only such centre of its kind because it is an amalgam of the primary, secondary and tertiary level care. Its architectural beauty and environmental credentials are striking. It is situated in the heart of the south of the island which has yearned for such a clinical development. The centre was conceived and baptised with a holistic and dynamic service provision in mind. Our strategy is simple—extract as many day-case services from Mater Dei Hospital as possible. This will not only decant services away from this mammoth institution, but it will also allow Mater Dei to develop and flourish as a centre of excellence for expanded in-patient care concentrating on medical and surgical emergencies, severe trauma, complex conditions and operations requiring high dependency and intensive care.

I must congratulate the FMS and the many private contractors that worked tirelessly together to equip, finish and commission the building. The hand-over to Secondary Care proceeded in a measured tone running parallel with steady certification and licensing to the highest standards of safety and quality. Despite our zeal and may I say impatience to open its doors to patients, and in order to avoid unavoidable teething logistical problems, we decided to introduce the services in a phased and staggered fashion. With ample car-parking space, a sprawl of exquisitely appointed clinical rooms, state of the art equipment, gym facilities and person-friendly flows, the centre is already offering some 50 services since its soft opening just a couple of months ago. To date, over 22,000 patients have been seen and treated here. This suggests that Censu Moran will potentially cater for more than the 100,000 patients envisaged in the past.

The translocation of primary care services from the dated Paola Health Centre to Censu Moran is complete. Primary care staples include 24/7 first contact with general practitioners, nurse-led clinics, speech and language pathology, physiotherapy, ophthalmic care and screening, blood-letting, the well-baby clinic, podology, immunisation and plain radiography. Secondary care involves the service of several specialists tending to referrals from primary care. Censu Moran is offering these services in gynaecology, dentistry, various medical specialities, cardiology, gastroenterology and general surgery. Indeed, the two commissioned operating theatres will offer a range of endoscopies and day-case operations in multiple specialities. We are preparing an extra two endoscopy rooms.

Tertiary care is super-specialised health care wherein specialists refer to other specialists. Currently this is being offered in gastrointestinal pH and manometry testing, immunology, a first in Malta; liver and pancreatic surgery and soon capsule endoscopy. In just under one year, over a thousand patients have benefitted from the portable MRI scanner parked at Censu Moran parking lot. It is our intention to have permanent MRI and CT scan capability by tapping into EU ERDF funds.

Infrastructure is important but it is nothing without our employees. I take this opportunity to thank them for their dedication to the patient.