In a year’s time, the controversial complex to be known as the Mater Dei Hospital will be up and running – if the deadlines are met.

The hospital is scheduled to be opened on 1 July 2007, the date given by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi as the day by which the hospital at Tal-Qroqq should be operational.

Journalists were taken to visit the complex last week and were told that the construction of the hospital is nearing completion and that “everything is moving according to established deadlines,” as Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech put it.

When completed, it would have taken more than 13 years from start to finish, much longer than anticipated and much longer than it should have.

But the hospital has from day one been at the centre of controversy, with the original plans that were drawn up being changed when the Labour Party was elected to government in 1996 and changed again two years later when the Nationalist Party was re-elected.

There was even a change in the name, as first it became known as the San Raffaele Hospital and this was later changed to what it is today, the Mater Dei.

Over the years, the controversy as to how much it will eventually cost hit the newspapers several times. The expenses involved escalated rapidly as additions and changes were made, with the government saying that the costs had been capped at Lm145 million and the Opposition insisting that much more will be spent.

The question of the hospital’s administration, in particular the expenses involved, was also a much-debated issue. It will certainly cost more to run Mater Dei than St Luke’s Hospital, but at the end of the day the facilities for patients will be much better than they are at present.

When all is said and done, Malta will have a state-of-the-art hospital, planned and built with the needs of patients in mind.

But, apart from the physical completion of the complex, one has to look deeply into how the changeover from St Luke’s Hospital to Mater Dei will be administered. Mr Fenech said that the government is planning a short timeframe for the move. While it is good that the changeover is as quick as possible, at the same time, matters should not be rushed too much and a careful balance must be found. There will be teething problems that need to be anticipated and taken care of.

Details of these have not as yet been finalised, and it is hoped that they will be made available long before the move is made to enable all the stakeholders to pinpoint any problems and deal with them accordingly. Since such a plan should contain many details it is easy to leave something out and it is only the people involved directly that would notice such a shortcoming.

Apart from informing the staff that will be working at the new hospital about how it is going to function, the government should also consider a public relations campaign explaining the whereabouts of the different department blocks, in particular the emergency section.

One other factor that was confirmed during last week’s press conference was the closing down of both St Luke’s Hospital and Boffa Hospital once the move to Tal-Qroqq is completed.

Both these hospitals have served the Maltese public well over many years, and it would be a real pity if the respective buildings are left to deteriorate. Both are buildings that could serve other purposes in the future, and therefore they should not be neglected. If anything, the government should already be looking for potential buyers as the sale of these buildings could partly make up for the expenses that are being incurred to build the Mater Dei Hospital.