‘Health centres will not be privatised,’ health minister tells nurses union

Nurses’ union MUMN has today said that it had been assured by Health Minister Konrad Mizzi that health centres would not be privatised, and that the principle of free health services will not change.

The union was reacting to a front page by the Malta Independent on Sunday which claimed that amongst its budget measures, the government will issue a call for private companies to take on public health centres on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

However, Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) President Paul Pace has said that after contacting the health minister, the latter disputed the report, instead assuring the union “that the government has no intention of privatising the polyclinics.”

Moreover, the MUMN said that the minister had confirmed that the building of the new Health Centres at Paola and Kirkop will proceed as planned and these centres and will be run by the Department of Health with Government employees.

A separate PPP project will be launched in Cospicua wherein the private sector will finance the refurbishment and also operate the health centre on behalf of the government.

In this case, government employees at the Cospicua health centre will not be deployed on this operation but would be redeployed to other areas of the health service to address shortages.

The MUMN also underlined that the services provided will remain free.

The union also said that Konrad Mizzi assured that not only would the health services remain free for the general public but no nurse or any other employee working in the health centres will be seconded to any private entrepreneur.