Opposition says helipad incident ‘exposed government’s flaws’

The Nationalist Party has criticized the Government after a car parked on the helipad at St. Luke’s Hospital obstructed the landing of an AFM helicopter. This helicopter was supposed to land on the hospital’s helipad so that medical crew could board it before it flew to Gozo to pick up a patient who had suffered a serious stroke.

Shadow Health Minister Claudio Grech said that this incident “exposed a series of failures that shouldn’t be accepted in a modern public health service that costs Malta more than €400 million a year to upkeep.”

“The helipad should always be ready for usage in case an emergency arises,” Grech said. “It is the Government’s basic obligation to ensure that the helipad is administered and controlled properly around the clock. This incident clearly shows that they are not respecting this obligation, a reflection of a flawed government where such basic and sensitive issues are concerned.”  

“Government statements made on the 9 August contradict statements that were reported on Monday,” Grech said. “Such a lack of transparency on such a sensitive issue can decrease the public’s faith in the public health service.”  

“The Government has not been transparent about the basic details about who was blocking the helicopter’s access to the helipad and whether that person had the required permission to be there,” Grech said.

The Government has since called a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Mater Dei CEO Joe Caruana and clinical director Joseph Zarb Adami have said that the Gozitan patient’s death was unrelated to the helipad incident. The PN said that such “premature statements” are “unacceptable and insensitive” and could “prejudice the magisterial inquiry”.