State-of-the-art equipment at Mater Dei Hospital will result in less and less use of physical files, but part of the migration process from St Luke’s to Mater Dei Hospital will include the physical transfer of 300,000 personal medical files, sources told this newspaper.

The new hospital’s PR and communications coordinator, Chris Scicluna explained that the completely new system that would be used at the new hospital would change the way the health system operated.

Most of the information on patients’ medical history would be available digitally; contrary to the present system at St Luke’s, X-ray and lab test results would be electronically available, said Mr Scicluna.

Referring to what was reported in other sections of the media, he said it was totally untrue that no space would be made available at Mater Dei Hospital for file storage.

He said a number of medical files would also be archived in stores in Marsa and a courier service would be available on a 24-hour basis for the retrieval of any files that could be needed.

However, he pointed out, the files that would be archived in Marsa would be files that were unlikely to be used.

“Among the files that will be stored in Marsa for example, there will be medical files of foreigners who might once have been admitted to hospital in Malta, or patients who were admitted more than five years ago,” said Mr Scicluna.

This was a practice that was regularly used in other hospitals internationally, he said, and there was no reason for the doubt or concern that might have been instilled by other media reports.

Mr Scicluna said that some hospitals abroad had archive stores situated about 10 to 15 miles away from the actual hospital building and some of them were not even manned on a 24-hour basis.

“Such off-site procedures are normal in other hospitals and there is absolutely no reason for concern over us adopting this practice here.”

When the hospital opens on 1 July, when Skanska is bound to hand over the hospital to the government, people will be able to start experiencing the new way of receiving health services.

Those who have already been on tours around the new hospital may notice that Mater Dei is not simply new in terms of the infrastructure, but it will revolutionise the health system by means of the modern facilities, particularly state-of-the-art equipment being made available by means of heavy investment, Mr Scicluna said.