Malta had the second highest number of psychiatric hospital beds per capita in the European Union in 2015, according to a study by Eurostat published last week.

The graph shows Malta ranking second place, with 132 hospital beds for psychiatric care per 100,000 inhabitants. The EU average in 2015 was 72, meaning that Malta's 132 hospital beds is almost double the EU average.

Alongside this study published by the European statistics body last Friday, a report published by Commissioner for Mental Health John Cachia on the same day underlines concerns with the quality of the Malta's psychiatric hospital Mount Carmel.

In the report, Cachia said that the patients seem to be better kept, however, the physical environment at Mount Carmel is in great need of improvement. He wrote that the dedication and respect shown by the staff cannot be expected to make up for the "lack of investment in the physical environment of care facilities."

Safety is still an issue in some of the wards, and although an improvement was registered over 2015, so much more still needs to be done, he said. One of the environmental concerns he deems urgent is the relocation of a smoking room.

"One issue that needs to be tackled immediately is the relocation of the smoking area on MCH-Male Ward 1, as the fact that it also doubles up as a lounge and television room exposing non-smokers to continual second-hand smoke is unacceptable," wrote Cachia.

Moreover,  despite Malta's high graph position, last September, former Health Minister and Member of the Democratic Party Godfrey Farrugia had voiced his concern about the lack of space for patients at the hospital.

Speaking to The Times of Malta in November, he had said that only around 100 patients at the 650-bed hospital need acute psychiatric care. He said that the rest were institutionalized patients, geriatrics, and others who could be receiving care whilst they are living within the community.

Since 2016, Health Minister Chris Fearne has spoken about plans for a 150-bed acute mental health hospital as well as a renovation project at Mount Carmel. Once the former is built, the latter will house long-term patients who are not able to live alone, Fearne had explained.  

Belgium registered the highest number of hospital beds for psychiatric care per 100 000 inhabitants in the EU, with 174, whilst at the other end of the scale was Italy (with nine psychiatric care beds per 100 000 inhabitants), Cyprus (with 22) and Ireland (with 35).

Alliance for Mental Health reacts

Following the media reports on the high rates in inpatient psychiatric bed use in Malta, the Alliance for Mental Health (A4MH) wish to clarify that the main reason for this is that local psychiatry services remain focused on hospital based care.

"Whilst it is clear that a new hospital is urgently needed, out of basic respect for human dignity and to offer people an acceptable environment when they are hospitalized, the A4MH would nonetheless like to once more point out that for decades, the international standard is that treatment of mental health conditions should be based in the community and not within hospital."

"Therefore, unless the current services are reconsidered and restructured, a new hospital will not help Malta change this concerning statistic."