In just over six months, Malta will have a new hospital up and running, if the established deadlines are met.

The Mater Dei Hospital, which has taken much longer than necessary to build after years of controversy as plans were changed and the costs increased, is supposed to open on 1 July 2007. That is the deadline set by the government.

Visiting the complex a few days ago, Parliamentary Secretary in the Finance Ministry Tonio Fenech said that the work that still needs to be done is moving according to schedule, adding that, once opened, Malta will have what he described as a “world-class” hospital.

St Luke’s Hospital has for many years been feeling the strain of the workload. For one thing, it has in many aspects grown too small to meet the exigencies of a growing population and its medical needs.

The need was felt for Malta to have a new and modern hospital, and if what Mr Fenech said is correct, the Maltese will soon have it.

A hospital is what one can describe as a necessary evil – in the sense that nobody likes to spend time there. But if the stay there is comfortable and creates the least inconvenience possible, then both the patients and their families will find this hurdle less difficult to overcome.

Of course, a hospital is not only the building, the wards and the equipment. A hospital is as good as its services are, and therefore it is important that the level of services offered improves once the shift is made from Guardamangia to Tal-Qroqq.

Mr Fenech said that once the new hospital is completed, the migration system from St Luke’s to Mater Dei will start. This means that for a time both hospitals will be running simultaneously, and this will inevitably lead to the stretching of human resources.

It will be vital that the time it takes for all services given at St Luke’s to be moved to Mater Dei is as short as possible. A detailed plan needs to be worked out – and we are in no doubt that this is already being done – but, again, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. It is hoped that there will be no hiccups during this time, especially keeping in mind the safety and well-being of patients who, in that particular period, need medical attention.

One other issue that needs to be sorted out when a project of this magnitude is being carried out is that connected with transport.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of cars and people will be commuting to and from Tal-Qroqq each day when the hospital is opened, and considering that the area in question also attracts the 10,000 or so students who attend university, one expects that the traffic problems in that area will not be easy to resolve.

The road network in the area has been improved, and this will go a long way to help the traffic flow. Added to this, one must also consider bettering the public transport system in the area, both for people going to the hospital and those attending university.

In this respect, the announcement made by Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett on the possibility of building a bus terminus to cover both complexes is most welcome.

While addressing university students recently, Mr Mugliett said the government hopes to embark on a public-private partnership to turn one of the university car parks into a fully-fledged bus terminus with an underground car park.

Little has been said on this idea since then, and one hopes that it has not been shelved. Both the university and the hospital would benefit from having a bus terminus close by.