Madliena medical stores found in dilapidated state

Exposed iron beams, broken windows, wooden pallets, stacks of paper files, mould, plaster falling off the walls and filth is what welcomes whoever visits the government-owned medical stories in Madliena.

The disastrous condition of the British-built army-barracks-turned-medical-stores is evidence of years of neglect. The stores house both expired medical supplies and medical consumables which are to be used by public hospitals.

The grounds are covered with overgrown weeds, exposing them to the risk of a grass fire during the hot summer days. Two trucks and locked containers are also visible, and, apparently, "nobody knows what's inside them".

Earlier this month, the Ministry for Health carried out an inspection to examine the state of the stores after €455,000 worth of expired medicines were found at Boffa Hospital, while a trip to a facility at Mater Dei uncovered a further wastage of €35,000 in medical material.

The photos reproduced with this article show boxes containing medical consumables, some expired and others not, stored in mould-infested rooms with dripping roofs.

The spot check revealed "total disorganisation" in the way the products were stored, together with material that had been thrown away. Even though medical consumables, which are to be used, are situated "in a better place", the hygiene level of the stores is not up to standard.

The filing system is still being kept manually, while hundreds and thousands of medical files have still not been disposed of. The files should have been shredded "a long time ago".

The recommendation put forward to the government is for immediate action, "although the ideal solution would be the provision of a new place".