Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne has said that Sir Paul Boffa Hospital will turn into a general hospital by the end of the year.

Dr Fearne was speaking on the radio programme 'Ghandi xi nghid' with Andrew Azzopardi, who is also a Malta Independent opinionist.

Currently, Boffa hospital is used as a specialised hospital for Oncology and Palliative Care and Dermatology. Dr Fearne said that when the new Oncology centre is built at Mater Dei , those receiving care at Boffa will be moved there. Sir Paul Boffa Hospital will then be refurbished and used once again as a hospital to help deal with the lack of hospital beds at Meter Dei, Dr Fearne said.

Eventually when the lack of beds is no longer a problem, Boffa might be turned into something other than a hospital, he explained.

The government plans to increase the number of beds available to 200 by the end of the year and 300 by next year, he said.