Medical association slams ‘personal’ attacks by Health Ministry

The Medical Association of Malta (MAM) on Saturday criticised what it described as "personal and highly unprofessional attacks" by the Health Minister against its council members, who it said were fulfilling their role in protecting both members and patients from poorly thought-out management decisions.

In a statement, MAM said the minister had met with the association only once in the past year and did not consult stakeholders on his decisions.

The association was responding to the government’s announcement on Thursday regarding the launch of a public-private partnership initiative for treating patients with uncomplicated emergencies.

MAM said it has signed agreements that it has to be fully informed of any private public partnership which can only take place once MAM gives its consent.

With regards to IVF, MAM refrained from taking trade union or legal action even though the ministry did not respect its obligations. MAM had serious reservations because IVF is costing the government 5 to 10 times what it cost in any private hospital in Europe. This was confirmed recently by receipts provided by the ministry itself. MAM is reserving the right to refer the matter to the auditor general for verification.

MAM said it is completely in the dark on how the proposed partnership is going to work as only scanty information was provided by the chief medical officer who did not provide any written documentation.

MAM added it has serious concerns on patient safety and must protect the patient from “chaotic management decisions” and has directed doctors to continue working along standard procedures.

MAM said it will not accept under any circumstance that medical doctors are made personally responsible resulting from changes in procedure which have not been properly thought out and discussed with the legally elected representatives. This is also to the benefit of patient safety, the association said.