Mater Dei: 600 patients on stretcher in March
600 patients without a bed in Mater Dei during last March, 300 in April.
There were 595 patients last March who were left on a stretcher due to lack of beds and overcrowding at Mater Dei Hosptial.
Giving details in reply to a parliamentary question by Joe Cassar, the Minister for Health Godfrey Farrugia informed his predecessor that while in March the it amounted to 595, the figure was brought down by half in a month.
In Area 2, there were 299 patients on a stretcher in March and 133 in April. In the new Medical Admissions Unit, there were a total of 296 in March and 173 in April. No patients on stretchers were recorded at the Paediatric Corridor.
The problem of lack of beds in the hospital seemed to be the most alarming in Area 2; In fact, on 12 separate days, there were between 18 and 20 patients on a stretcher in Area 2 alone. Two-thirds of these were between 18 and 26 March.