New psychiatric hospital to be built in Swatar

A tract of land in Swatar has been earmarked for the construction of a psychiatric hospital, Chris Fearne said on Thursday in an overview of budget measures targeting the health sector.

The Health Minister said that the Lands Department has transferred the site to the health authorities and designs for the new building are currently being prepared.

Fearne said the psychiatric hospital will be located opposite the Mater Dei Hospital car park and the two facilities will be linked by a tunnel, presumably running beneath the Birkirkara bypass.

Fearne said EU funds will be the primary source of funding for this facility.

He said the hospital's design contract had already been awarded, and preparations are underway to draw up the tender for the construction of the facility.

The new facility will provide acute care for patients with mental health issues.

The Labour Party's 2017 and 2022 manifestos both made mention of plans for a new mental health facility to supplement Mount Carmel. 

Fearne did not give a deadline by when the psychiatric hospital will be operational.

€1.6 billion for health

Next year will see a record-breaking budget allocated for expenditure in the health field, Fearne said, when describing the €1.6 billion allocated to the sector.

The national strategy on palliative care, the revised strategy on sexual health, the digitization strategy, and the expansion of telemedicine were among the several initiatives the Deputy Prime Minister listed as being planned for the upcoming year.

Work is expected to start on the new outpatient facility at Mater Dei, which includes underground parking facilities, the expansion of the Emergency Department, and investment in a new cardiac suite at Mater Dei Hospital.

Boffa Hospital's wards will be renovated and prepared for the possibility of a higher demand for beds over the winter months.

Abortion

Asked whether government was considering opening a discussion on the legalisation of abortion, given that the sexual attitudes survey being carried out by the health authorities is also asking about abortion, Fearne said the discussion in society had already started.

He said the health authorities had to have a snapshot of the sexual preferences and attitudes towards sexual health and contraception of the Maltese before drafting a sexual health policy that reflects today's situation.

Fearne said that after the budget votes are discussed in parliament he would be presenting changes to the law that would ensure doctors can offer the best possible care to protect a pregnant woman's life. "But this has nothing to do with abortion," he said.

The legal changes are a reaction to a case earlier this year involving an American tourist who started miscarrying but doctors refused to terminate her unviable pregnancy because of Malta's strict laws making abortion illegal in all circumstances.