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‘Good intentions but wrong decision’, PM on latest Mater Dei decision
Office of the Prime Minister says patients and staff have to be treated with dignity at all times.
11 January 2014, 12:00am
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
2 min read
A decision by the Health Ministry to erect a tent outside the day care unit at Mater Dei Hospital to act as a reception was categorically rejected by the Office of the Prime Minister.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat ordered the immediate removal of the tent and the marquee after he found out that the structures were being set up.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister admitted that the decision to move the reception in the car park under a tent "was wrong".
Insisting that the intentions of the health ministry were "good", the spokesperson said the patients' dignity had to be respected at all times.
"We want the quality of service provided to the patients to improve not deteriorate and, together with the staff, patients have to be treated with dignity," the OPM said.
The spokesperson said the government had inherited a "scandalous" situation and "certain decisions need to be taken".
The Health Ministry's idea to move the reception outside and use the area as a treatment room for possible influenza cases did not go down well with various quarters, including the nurses and the PN.
The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) issued directives to its members without any notice as per the civil service agreement and registered a dispute in MDH.
The Nationalist Party said the move was "insensitive" and "undignified".
Before the Prime Minister's order was issued, a spokesperson for Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia said the day care unit's reception would be turned into a treatment area for two months - January and February - in order to mitigate the influx of patients the influenza season brings with it.
"Mater Dei always experiences an influx of patients between January and February due to influenza cases," the spokesman said. "To mitigate such a scenario, a decision has been taken to temporarily use the reception area as a treatment room."
The spokesperson said the reception was a large enough area to be utilised without blocking access to other areas.
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Again and again this Mater Dei over crowding is going to pop up. There are no long term solutions and the short term solutions won't do. I am no politician and I am no doctor but like many others I think that the only solution to this over crowding lies in the re-opening of St Luke Hospital. No matter how much State of the Art Mater Dei is, it can only accommodate so many beds and so many patients. The can is runneth over and with the population growing each year it will get worse in the years to come.. Mater Dei cannot even handle the all of the Maltese population as it is, let alone handle all of the EU visitors and the influx of illegal immigrants who are depleting all of our resources. I have to repeat my favourite line, but you cannot fit 5 litres of water in a 1 litre can.
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..if the present administration has {really} inherited a 'scandalous'situation and 'certain decisions need to be taken' - it's no use coming up with 'daft' solutions...
Priscilla Darmenia •
This incident reminded me of my younger days when I was a manager in a factory and I failed to take a decision on a serious problem. The owner director called me and told me that as a manager I should take a decision, even if it a bad one, but cannot leave the situation as it is as it will solve itself. At least Dr Farrugia took a decision to do something about the situation unlike his predecessor.
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This U-turn is an admission that this administration is at a loss on how to handle the situation. Of course the previous government is, undoubtedly, to blame (this tune will still be in the top twenty for the next four years) but the trumpeting of assurances, on the run up to election, that the Mater Dei capacity problems will be resolved, have now been reduced to a nye party whistle.
