Doctors rue scrapped Mater Dei outpatients plan, but ministry defends savings on recouped hospitals

Malta’s doctors lobby has claimed plans by health minister Jo-Etienne Abela to “cram” five acute psychiatry wards above the Mater Dei Hospital A&E department, and scrapping plans for an outpatients block, will cost €10 million and delay the much-needed expansion by at least five years.

The Medical Association of Malta accused Abela of having scrapped plans piloted by predecessor Chris Fearne for an acute psychiatry facility and outpatients block without proper consultation. “Abela wants a completely different plan cramming five acute psychiatry wards on top of the Emergency department while the outpatients block is being scrapped completely,” said MAM president Martin Balzan.

The MAM said the government had spent a total of €3.7 million in plan for the acute psychiatric facility and another €7 million for the outpatients block planned by Fearne. “These plans, which took three years to be completed, were ready and extensively discussed with all stakeholders and had the support of all stakeholders.”

The MAM said the decision to modify plans will require a new expenditure of another €10 million on plans, and a delay of at least two years to start actual construction and another two to three years to completion.

“Furthermore, there is a deadline in February for the completion of the Paola Health centre where there may be a recovery of over €50 million by the EU if the project not completed by that date. MAM appeals to Minister Abela to prioritise patients, use the plans which are ready and start with the desperately needed construction,” Balzan said.

“While MAM still trusts that Minister Abela has good intentions the current impression is that millions are voted for health, nothing gets done.”

The health ministry however said the MAM statement had been selective in omitting a number of substantial details that had explained the government’s decisions on health-related infrastructure.

“The said plans were developed at a time when the government did not have in its hands either the operation of St Luke's Hospital or Karen Grech Hospital. The government’s vision is to regenerate and reintegrate these buildings into the country’s health system,” the ministry said, adding that works on these buildings were at an advanced stage.

“MAM is aware of this and therefore cannot on the one hand criticise that nothing is being done with these important buildings, and at the same time hinder work that will lead to these hospitals starting to perform important functions in our country’s health system.”

The government said that by using the state hospitals, the government will avoid eliminating the helipad service at Mater Dei Hospital for emergencies from the Gozo General Hospital.

The ministry also said that while the MAM was working in its members’ best interests, this did not entitle it to act as an arbiter on management strategy and infrastructural projects.

Government dropped plans for a new outpatient block at Mater Dei Hospital back in March 2024.

The new five-storey block for which planning permits were obtained in 2021 would have freed up space inside the hospital, which has been struggling with a lack of beds.

Abela said the plans had already been ditched before he took over the health portfolio in January.

Over the past year government has come under fire over its inability to finance key infrastructure in the health sector because of money wasted on the now defunct Steward hospitals deal.

Abela is understood to have presented plans to have all outpatient and daycare services transferred from Mater Dei to St Luke’s and Karin Grech hospitals in Gwardamanga, where the latter two hospitals are now back in government’s hands after the Steward deal was cancelled.

This move would free up additional clinical space at Mater Dei, which would focus solely on emergency and inpatient care.

The minister wants Malta’s only general hospital to expand its emergency facilities to cope with the demands of a bigger population.
The overall plan, which appears to be at embryonic stage, would see all physiotherapy and rehabilitation services currently at Gwardamanga shifted to St Vincent de Paul in Luqa, which is the State’s largest home for the elderly.