The deadline has been met, but it will still be some time before the Mater Dei Hospital replaces St Luke’s Hospital.

Tonight’s ceremony at Tal-Qroqq signifies the handing over of the hospital by Skanska to the government. But by no means does it signify that the hospital is ready to move into. The event at Tal-Qroqq tonight is just another chapter, it is not the conclusion of the story.

The builders had been given until 1 July this year to finish the hospital, and would have been fined if they had not managed to complete it in time. They did finish, but the saga is far from over.

A hospital is not about the physical building – although having comfortable surroundings makes recovery more pleasant – but rather the services that are offered. And, although the hospital will be placed officially in the government’s hands as from tonight, there are still many problems that need to be ironed out before we can say “Hallelujah, we have a new hospital”.

Only yesterday the Medical Association of Malta, while welcoming the end of the construction phase of the hospital, reminded the government that negotiations on how the new hospital will function and the working conditions of its members are still underway, and called for a conclusion that will pave the way for the opening of the hospital in the real sense of the word.

There are, of course, other unions involved in negotiations with the government over the migration process from St Luke’s to Mater Dei, and unless the sticking points are sorted out, the official opening of the hospital and – more importantly – the transfer of all health services from Gwardamangia to Tal-Qroqq will be further delayed.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has pledged that the hospital will be fully-functional by the end of the year, but as matters stand now – and if the history of this hospital to date is anything to go by – we cannot help but doubt that this will happen.

Negotiations between the government and the unions have been going on for quite some time now, and although there is goodwill on both sides, the parties involved are still rather distant from each other.

It has taken nearly a decade-and-a-half to complete the construction of the hospital, with plans being changed more than once in the process. Deadlines for its completion have changed more than once too, as has the official cost of the project, which has now soared to Lm250 million.

But, as yet, it is still unclear as to when people will be receiving health services at Tal-Qroqq. On 1 January, Malta is supposed to have a new currency and a fully-functional hospital, but whereas, with six months to go, the adoption of the euro is now a foregone conclusion, we still do not know whether the new hospital will be up and running by then.

And, speaking of money, there are other issues on which the public deserves information. While it is unlikely that there will be any changes in the coming year or so, the possibility that, in the future, hospital services will come at a cost for people at the upper end of the social scale, does exist. The government is keeping mum on this particular matter, and in spite of various attempts by the opposition to force the issue, it is keeping its cards close to its chest.

Health services are costly, and they will become even more costly once the Mater Dei Hospital opens. Both the government and the opposition should say, as from now, what their plans are: do they envisage that, after the next election, at least a section of the population will start to pay for treatment at Mater Dei Hospital?