Any claims about Steward Healthcare departing the Gozo General Hospital are “purely speculative”, the health operator said in a statement on Friday.

Steward were reacting to claims by PN MP Chris Said, who said that it seemed like Steward Healthcare will be leaving the Gozo General Hospital by the end of this month.

In a Facebook post, Said said that the hospital will return to government hands, adding that this is a great victory for Gozitans and a great victory for the Nationalist Party which has been fighting against the privatisation of the Gozo General Hospital since the first day it emerged.

However, Steward have now reacted by saying that the current claims about the hospital are “purely speculative”.

“As is common knowledge Steward Health Care Malta has been engaged in active discussions with the Government over the past months and discussions are still ongoing”, Steward said – although they did not mention specifically what the discussions where on.

Steward said that it is reiterating “its commitment to all three hospitals under its responsibility – Gozo General Hospital, Karin Grech Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital – for the benefit of its patients, staff and the communities that it serves.”

Gozo General Hospital was one of three hospitals privatised some years ago.  It, along with St. Luke’s Hospital and Karin Grech Hospital, was sold to Vitals Global Healthcare in a deal which remains enveloped in controversy and which only lasted some 22 months.  Steward Healthcare took over the concession from Vitals in 2017, with Health Minister Chris Fearne describing them as “the real deal.”

Further controversy has since emerged, not least a report by the National Audit Office which found that there was evidence of collusion between the government and Vitals in how the concession for the three hospitals was awarded.

The controversy has led to many calling for the concession to be cancelled – although the existence of a €100 million exit clause has since come to light.  The Nationalist Party have pledged to cancel the contract if they win the next general election, with former PN leader Adrian Delia leading a crusade against the concessions.