The Mater Dei “Hospital Activity Report” is a regular internal publication which gives a clear picture of the state of affairs within our national general hospital. It is no top secret document but Muscat’s cabinet treats all matters in a secretive fashion.
In his reply to a parliamentary question asking for the publication of this report, Konrad Mizzi said that this report is “commercially sensitive”. Once again a Mintoffian excuse to hide the facts which continue to expose an incompetent government.
The report is not commercially sensitive. It is politically explosive and exposes the social insensitivity of this government.
Under the Gonzi government the report used to be published. Since the document then was much longer than the one we have in hand today, excerpts were published on a regular basis.
The January to June 2015 report is proof, if ever one was needed, that Muscat’s roadmap on health never existed. It shows very clearly how the Labour Government has failed in its administration of Mater Dei Hospital.
Over 45,000 persons were admitted to hospital during the first six months of this year, an increase of nearly 1,000 patients over the same period in 2014. Our country did not face some sort of epidemic or infectious disease to spike the admissions numbers, so what went wrong? Do we know how many of these patients are in fact readmissions?
A readmission is defined as a hospitalization that occurs shortly after a discharge. It is most often measured as taking place within 30 days, although it could be shorter or longer. Such readmissions are often, but not always, related to a problem inadequately resolved in the prior hospitalization, such as a hospital-acquired infection or unstable heart functioning. They also can be caused by deterioration in a patient’s health after discharge due either to inadequate management of their condition, or, misunderstanding of how to manage it, or, lack of access to the appropriate services or medications.
Several family members of patients, particularly elderly ones, have contacted me to relate heart-breaking stories of how their dear ones are taken to Mater Dei Hospital for acute treatment, then sent back home a few days later, only to return to hospital time and time again.
These cases and readmissions increase the number of patients who go to hospital over and over again. Is the government looking into these numbers and the causes behind readmissions?
The lies
Unfortunately our dishonest government will not come clean. The evasions and weak attempts to defend the indefensible are multiple and growing.
We all know that the so-called roadmap to better health services never existed. It was a lie, a scam. Now they want us to believe that the crisis at Mater Dei Hospital is because there is an increase in the number of elective surgeries. Once again, the hospital report proves that this is not the case. Less than 16% of all hospital admissions for the first six months of this year were for elective surgeries.
The same report also proves that the Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries are not working well between themselves. On the one hand, Michael Farrugia and Justyne Caruana boast of how they have improved the services for the elderly. On the other hand, Konrad Mizzi and Chris Fearne are facing a different, grim reality.
In the first six months of 2015, the number of elderly waiting to go to Karin Grech, San Vincenz or a home for the elderly rose to 451.
This is, unfortunately, the real state of affairs. This is the truth which our government has tried hard to conceal from us.
There was no roadmap. Health was used by Muscat as sweet talk during the electoral campaign. The sick and vulnerable were used for Muscat’s personal and political gain.
In the meantime the elderly are left to hope for a chance that some Minister gets to know of their plight. Their dignity depends on the grace and favour of politicians.