Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Health Minister Chris Fearne inaugurated St Thomas Hospital in Qormi this morning following a €9 million investment to convert it into a boutique hospital with 40 beds creating around 40 new jobs.
Dr Muscat said that the boutique hospital will lead to a high level of treatment and will serve as another opportunity for medical tourism. The three pillars on which the health sector is being run according to the Prime Minister are: quality standards, the fact that it remains free to the public, and that it is sustainable.
The Prime Minister also spoke about 1,200 new jobs being created by the privatization of St Luke’s Hospital, Karen Grech Hospital and Gozo General Hospital. This focus on medical tourism is creating a new economic niche and the new challenge will to ensure that there is no unfair competition created between the private and the public health sectors.
The whole point isn’t competition, but a pooling of resources across the private and public health sectors to ensure that there is a better overall quality for the Maltese and Gozitan people. In fact, Dr Muscat said that there has been a 50 percent decrease in waiting lists since last year and there is still further work to be done to address the other 50 percent.
Mr Fearne spoke about a resurgence in investment in private hospitals echoing Dr Muscat’s points of sharing resources to ensure better quality and sustainability in the long run. The Health Minister spoke about the agreement which the government signed with St Thomas Hospital to hold around 200 operations to reduce the waiting list.
Investments in this hospital have also led for a state of the art CT Scanner which is the first of its kind on the island and is a direct benefit of €150,000 in EU funding. This scanner can help detect heart and intestinal issues earlier in a way to avoid unnecessarily invasive procedures or anesthesia. The hospital also includes chairs which can be transformed into beds for family members this increasing comfort while never lacking functionality.