Labour says St Philip’s hospital deal should be suspended

Additional reporting by Bianca Caruana.

Labour MP Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said Labour will be asking for the St Philip's Hospital deal to be scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee, after Nationalist MP Franco Debono yesterday filed a motion calling for the suspension of negotiations over the purchase of St Philip’s Hospital.

“The Labour Party will be asking the House Business Committee during the meeting today to convene the Public Accounts Committee to scrutinise the St Philip’s deal. The PL wants the suspension of the agreement until all details are revealed,” Coleiro Preca said.

Debono’s motion calls for the suspension of the current negotiation process over the purchase of St Philip’s Hospital, to allow the Auditor General or the Public Accounts Committee to scrutinise the process.

During a press conference in which she denounced the lack of human resources in the health sector, Coleiro Preca said the ‘stop-gap solution’ to add 110 beds at St Philip's will not solve the long-term problems in this sector.

“The St Philip' Hospital deal smells of electoral panic and the bed shortage problem has been known for years. This will only be a temporary solution and will not resolve the actual problem. The delay in finding a suitable site for a rehabilitation hospital is a certificate of the absolute failure in government’s planning strategy in the health sector,” Coleiro Preca said.

A rehabilitation hospital was originally planned to be located at Mater Dei Hospital but changes to government plans then earmarked St Vincent de Paule Hospital as a possible location.

This was once again scrapped from government’s plans to finally commence negotiations over St Philip’s Hospital as the most viable option.

When asked for his comments on the motion, Health Minister Joe Cassar today was unable to provide journalists with conclusive comments when questioned about Debono’s motion to suspend these negotiations. “The government will always be committed to the serious care of patients. Everything we [the government] do or decide, will come under scrutiny and criticism. Discussions over the hospital have been ongoing since 2010 so there has been plenty of time,” Cassar said before walking away from journalists before further questions could be put to him.

Independent MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando today also raised the issue Franco Debono highlighted in his motion on the St Philip's hospital, questioning why the currently derelict St Luke's Hospital was not refurbished to take in patients currently being accommodate inside the corridors at Mater Dei Hospital.

"Why are we spending money on an abandoned private hospital when we could be spending it on an abandoned public hospital. This is not even something for the Public Accounts Committee to verify. It is simple common sense and respect towards the public's feelings here," Pullicino Orlando said.

"The public has appreciated the government's repeal of the car park privatisation. The same should happen for the St Philip's hospital deal: it should be stopped now, and not signed and then be debated within the PAC."