All is not well at St Luke’s Hospital.

Two weeks ago, the Health Ministry convened a press conference to inform the public about the overcrowding problems that exist there. It emerged that the occupancy rate of the medical wards was 116.4 per cent in January, resulting in the postponement of non-urgent surgery as some of the wards used for post-operative care had had to be converted into medical wards.

This was done, it was said, so as not to leave patients in corridors. Although it is commendable that such action was taken for the convenience of patients at a time when the chills of winter in corridors would have been detrimental to their health, it created problems for others because the waiting list for non-urgent operations has grown.

One other point that was raised during the press conference was that there are many so-called social cases at the hospital. People who cannot take care of their elderly relatives are leaving them in hospital unnecessarily and this has exacerbated the problem of space.

Health Minister Louis Deguara said that the government did not want the hospital to be a “dumping ground” for people who do not want to, or cannot, take care of their elderly relatives. This is a social issue that needs to be addressed. Dr Deguara spoke of instances where elderly people had been literally abandoned in a wheelchair in the emergency department without documents.

One asks: is this the way that the elderly should be treated? Even if there was ample space to receive such patients, elderly people should be treated with much more respect than is sometimes shown by their relatives. It is really a shame that this happens.

The problem of overcrowding brings with it other issues, among them the one concerning a shortage of staff. Two unions have ordered industrial action this week, claiming that this shortage was leading to the delivery of a shoddy service as well as a deterioration in work conditions.

No doubt, the action taken by the Union Haddiema Maghqudin and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses was taken to spur the government into taking some form of action to rectify the situation.

The unions have been calling on the government to take action for a number of weeks. They are saying that more personnel should be recruited for a number of departments in order to improve the service as well as to spread the workload better.

The government seems to be dragging its feet, in spite of the fact that there are a number of people who have graduated in “hospital subjects” and who are ready for employment. It must be a matter of financial constraints.

What is happening at St Luke’s Hospital shows that Malta needs a bigger complex, where people who are ill or who have suffered a trauma can be cured or treated. The building of the Mater Dei Hospital, which should be completed by 1 July 2007, should be able to solve this problem.

But then, it could create another. Because what is the use of having a bigger hospital if there are not enough staff to cater for its needs? This is something that the government must plan really well.

The building of the Mater Dei Hospital, complicated as it is because of all the controversies with which it has been surrounded since its inception, is perhaps a smaller issue when compared to how such a big hospital needs to be administered.

We trust that the government has already started the process that will enable it to manage the hospital to the highest standards possible. The hospital at Tal-Qroqq may well be state-of-the-art when it is ready, but unless it is administered well, it will not serve its intended purpose.