Junior minister to keep doing private work until September

The parliamentary secretary for elderly care Franco Mercieca has come under severe pressure after having been revealed by the Sunday Times of carrying out his private practice during the week, ostensibly in clear breach of a limited waiver by the Prime Minister to have Mercieca carry out his ophthalmological practice on Sundays.

Joseph Muscat has defended his decision to grant Mercieca a waiver from the ministerial code of ethics, which should have meant that the junior minister relinquishes his private practice. Instead, Muscat has argued that Mercieca's reputable surgical skills should not be denied to patients who needed them.

Mercieca yesterday claimed he was keeping with the waiver granted to him and that he was in the stage of phasing out his private practice, to stop it totally by the beginning of September.

In an undercover video filmed by the Sunday Times at the St James Hospital, it was revealed that Mercieca on Wednesday carried our three cataract operations and six cosmetic laser eye-correction operations between 7am and 1pm, for a total of €3,600 for his half day's work.

Mercieca had previously claimed was only following up patients he operated upon before becoming parliamentary secretary and who needed further medical assistance, such as further cataract interventions. "If I operate on a Sunday instead of visiting a band club to see my constituents, I am (still) a full-time parliamentary secretary," he had said.

But the video suggests that Mercieca is taking on new patients, and that prospective patients are encouraged to book early.

In a statement, Mercieca yesterday said that the work he was carrying out included phakic implants and cornea cross-linking operations which he said only he could perform. "With reference to cataracts, I am only operating previously-seen patients," Mercieca said.

The junior minister said that he was one of only two local specialists who carry out laser surgery. "I am currently training another person to carry out these surgeries. It is my responsibility to make sure that this training is done without haste and in the most efficient of manners."

Mercieca has also threatened the Sunday Times of Malta with libel, claiming the newspaper carried false information and inaccuracies.

Mercieca said that he was alleged of having used his official car when travelling for his private practice. "This is an outright lie. The car is a private one, and the newspaper can check this by referring to the car's registration number, which has been blurred in the published picture. The lack of investigation on such a basic fact undermines the author's credibility and the other claims he makes."

Mercieca also said that the report failed to transcribe properly the content of the undercover video in which it alluded that Mercieca delivered regular lectures about laser operations. "This is rebuffed where the receptionist is heard clearly saying that 'you meet the surgeon only when in the theatre for the actual operation', something that the journalist conveniently failed to transcribe."

Mercieca claims that he is aware of one patient who had to be sent abroad for surgery because he had not been referred to the surgeon, claiming that this was "an extra expense to the Maltese taxpayer. This leaves only the patients in question short-changed. While I fully understand the responsibilities of my office, I remain committed to be of service to my patients and I will do his utmost to make sure that this transition is as smooth as possible for them."

Mercieca said that he will continue to see patients at Mater Dei Hospital, including Sunday morning operations, without remuneration.