A court today ordered the Maltese government to pay a British pensioner the sum of €11,000 after the local health authorities had refused to cover his medical costs.
John Dodds, who is in his 70s, had lived in Malta since 1996 and was registered with the Entitlement Unit since 2006.
In July 2009 he went on holiday in France and fell into a coma. He received medical care for an abdominal aortic aneurism and was later transferred to a nursing home for recovery.
Mr Dodds, who is an amputee, felt he was not receiving the best possible care and, using his Dutch health insurance, was transferred to the Netherlands for care. He had chosen Holland over Malta since he was using a wheelchair at the time and his Portomaso apartment unsuitable.
When he arrived in Holland doctors found that he had contracted MRSA. He was required to be kept in isolation and was swabbed three times a day. By this time the man had developed a lump in his leg, which was later diagnosed as an arterial aneurism. He required further surgery to save his leg. Mr Dodds was also advised against flying.
The pensioner told the Maltese authorities that he was unable to return to Malta and that he required urgent surgery.
But the Entitlement Unit had refused to reimburse him for the medical costs incurred, arguing that the operation could have been carried out in Malta. The unit had also refused to issue his European Health Insurance Card, insisting that he could have applied for one in the Netherlands. The unit had told Mr Dodds that by the time Malta would have issued his card, his old one would have expired.
The defence argued that Mr Dodds had failed to request prior authorisation for the medical procedure but Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera rejected this argument. The court said that, whilst the authorisation had not yet been issued, it was clear that Mr Dodds had made such a request, even if this did not necessarily mean that his request would be acceded to.
The magistrate ordered the Chief Medical Officer and the Head of the Entitlement Unit to reimburse Mr Dodds the sum of €11, 079.