All complaints received by Mount Carmel Hospital (MCH) are taken seriously, CEO Stephanie Xuereb told The Malta Independent.

Earlier this month, a former MCH patient shared the story of her stay at the facility with the media, outlining the structural and environmental issues she came across which have been red flagged by many, including the Mental Health Commissioner over the years.

Soon after, Mental Health Commissioner John Cachia released a statement in which he said that such a testimony is regrettably similar to many other patients’ views that reach his office. He said that such claims fall in line with his own reports on the hospital for a number of years. He acknowledged that professionals give their utmost and lengths of stay in hospital are nowadays considerably shorter, but there are still structural and protocol issues that need to be addressed.

The Malta Independent contacted MCH CEO Xuereb to get a better understanding of the situation, why patient and Commissioner reports have not been addressed yet and her plan for the future of the Hospital.

Xuereb said that MCH patients receiving inpatient treatment are a heterogenous group with extremely diverse needs and range from acutely psychotic patients, to vulnerable persons with suicidal ideation. “Thus, it needs to be appreciated that many of the hospital’s service users do not wish to be at MCH and do not even acknowledge that they require treatment.”

In turn, she said that both the Customer Care Office and the Office of the Commissioner receive a number of complaints which are not always justified or based on an accurate version of the state of events.

“Nonetheless, all complaints are taken seriously and investigated. Where the investigation indicates that indeed the situation triggering the incident could have been improved, operational practices are changed accordingly.”

She explained that Covid-19 put a spoke in the wheels of the plans they had laid out initially, where their actions were focused on ensuring that the Hospital is equipped with the proper facilities to be able to take care of Covid-19 positive mental health patients and to take all necessary measures to protect the inpatients.

Once this was in place, the management team at the Mental Health Services embarked on an ambitious plan to bring about a culture change in the whole organisation whilst reconfiguring the mental health services framework guided by the Mental Health Strategy 2020 – 2030.

Xuereb noted that one of her first aims on being appointed CEO was to make a tangible improvement in patient care across the whole breath of the mental health services, not only in MCH, and make it more readily accessible.

“Mental Health Services intends to move towards a model of care which is more person-centred,” she said, adding that it is the professionals’ dedication to mental health that is spearheading a culture change where emphasis is being made on the building of therapeutic relationships rather than a restrictive form of care.

These professional experts were recruited by Mental Health Services in order to facilitate and support the required organisational change. Training is being undertaken at the moment and is planned to continue for the rest of the year.

“The aim is to reinforce organisational core values of trust, integrity and respect whilst orienting the organisation to adopt an outcome focused perspective. The concept of patient focus and involvement within the context of a holistic service provision will be our mantra for the years to come.”

Structural renovations are currently ongoing at MCH, with a plan to remove several wards in order to introduce a community garden.

Plans are also underway for an acute Mental Health Hospital in the Swatar area and is scheduled for completion in 2025. It will include 8 psychiatric wards with a capacity of 120 beds in total, as well as a day hospital catering for approximately 25 patients, as well as multidisciplinary clinical and non-clinical services. 

It is expected that the hospital and all its facilities will cater for approximately 350 staff members and approximately 200 visitors daily. The land available for the project should allow for the inclusion of significant outdoor spaces, which will be utilized as part of the therapy delivered to the patients of the hospital.