The big empty shell that was Mater Dei Hospital yesterday came to life as operations, outpatients and ward migration began, breathing life into the huge modern building that has captured the imagination of all.

One expected to see chaos yesterday morning, but aside from a few hiccups (mostly involving people getting lost in the huge complex) everything seemed to be running smoothly with the characteristic hospital gloom being replaced with cheery smiles.

About 40 patients were transferred to various wards in Mater Dei yesterday, but there was much more going on. The media were invited to take part in the migration and the first person we spoke to was Nursing Department Manager Helen Zammit in the Outpatient/Pharmacy Department.

“As you can see, there is a hubbub of activity and it is certainly different to see it (the hospital) filled with people,” she said.

She also said that the system and the physical space and atmosphere made things much easier for staff and patients.

We also came across one of the Franciscan Friars who was also part of yesterday’s migration. We asked whether anyone had visited the chapel yet, to which he replied: “To be honest, I don’t know. It’s our first shift here too, so we are also finding our feet,” he said. He added that the chapel will be open on a 24/7 basis.

Principal Pharmacist Melanie Xuereb was in a very chipper mood. Fielding a question from The Malta Independent, she said: “The new IT system makes life much easier. People can pick up their prescriptions much more easily in a much nicer atmosphere,” she said, adding that the Government Pharmacy handles some 400 prescriptions daily. She also said that the same pharmacy offers a 24-hour emergency service.

We were then whisked off to the very high-tech Intensive Therapy Unit where we were received by chairman (Anaesthesia Department) Joe Zarb Adami. Dr Zarb Adami said that the main issue at stake in the ITU and theatre was to make sure that absolutely everything was as it should be.

“Therefore, we decided to carry out a number of minor operations and day surgeries in the main operating theatres,” he said. Elaborating, the anaesthesiologist said: “You cannot just waltz into a new theatre and carry out open heart surgery, you need to make sure that everything is as it should be, which is why we carried out some hernia, cataract and endoscopy procedures.”

He also said that the ITU was “ready for anything that may crop up”. This, he said, was due to the fact that since operations were being carried out, the need might arise for someone to be placed in the unit to recover. “We are not accepting people straight into ITU at present. People will be moved from the St Luke’s Unit to here as from tomorrow,” he said.

The ITU at Mater Dei Hospital has 12 beds and eight in the half-way-house High Dependency Unit. Closing his comments, he said: “The country should be very proud of the workers in the public hospital sector. They have made many sacrifices to get to this point and their integrity has been impeccable.”

Nursing Officer Philip Mizzi said that about 24 operations were carried out yesterday with five theatres on the go. He said he had to admit that there was a sense of shock as people began work yesterday, “but the shock soon passed and we got on with our work,” he said.

Ophthalmic Surgeon Franco Mercieca also took time out of his busy schedule to talk to the press and said that cataract procedures were moving along well at the rate of one every 15 minutes or so. “The facilities are excellent and the patient comfort factor cannot be underestimated,” he said.

Virtually all staff said that life was much easier in the new hospital due to an increase of floor space, equipment as well as the introduction of brand new machinery. But the major force at play seems to be the uplift in everyone’s spirits at experiencing medical care in a bright, spacious, modern and at times downright luxurious environment.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the Renal Unit where half the patients have already been transferred to Mater Dei. Nursing Officer and Transplant Co-Ordinator (and Lifecycle volunteer) Tony Bugeja said: “There are 12 patients here and they are all happy. They are in an open space where we can place even more emphasis on patient safety,” he said. He said that his department was the same as all the others: “We do not have to fit around the walls of St Luke’s any more, the walls of Mater Dei were made to fit our needs.”

Yesterday’s milestones in the migration process:

•The first Medical and Surgical Wards (including patients) moved from St Luke’s to Mater Dei;

•The Mater Dei ITU started functioning;

•Operating theatres and Day Care Surgery went live as the first surgeries were performed at Mater Dei;

•The Mater Dei Renal Unit received its first 50 per cent of patients;

•A number of Outpatient Clinics started offering services from the Mater Dei Outpatients Department;

•The Outpatient Pharmacy started operations at Mater Dei;

•Pathology Department increased services to a round-the-clock operation at Mater Dei;

•Other services such as Chaplaincy commenced.

Wards:

Four wards (two surgical and two medical) moved to Mater Dei. All cardiac medical patients at St. Luke’s will move to the new Cardiac Medical Ward at Mater Dei. Such a ward does not exist at St Luke’s.

WS2 Surgical Ward 3 MS2 Surgical Ward 4 M3 Medical Ward 3 M4 Medical Ward 6 Cardiac medical patients from all wards Cardiac Medical Ward Renal Unit * Renal Unit ITU & HDU ** Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) * The Renal Unit will operate on a split-site basis (St Luke’s and Mater Dei) until Friday, 16 November. From Saturday 17 November, all patients will receive treatment at the Mater Dei Renal Unit

* * *

At Mater Dei, the High Dependency Unit (HDU) has been merged into the Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU). ITU will operate on a split site-basis according to need. From yesterday, the Mater Dei Intensive Therapy Unit was active.

Surgery:

Three theatres were used (Theatre 9, 10 and 15) together with two Endoscopy rooms (Endoscopy Room 1 and 2) and three recovery areas (Day Care Recovery, Theatres Recovery and Endoscopy Recovery).

There were 24 operations planned yesterday which were performed by Prof. G. Laferla, Mr. A. Attard, Mr. A. Felice, Mr. F. Mercieca and Dr. M. Vassallo varying from hernias, removal of lumps and cysts, endoscopies, varicose veins and cataracts.

Outpatients Department:

The migration of the Outpatients Department is almost complete as a large number of clinics started offering services from the Mater Dei Outpatients Department:

• Ophthalmic Outpatients

• Diabetes/Endocrine

• Acc/Phlebotomy

• Medical outpatients 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Orthopaedic outpatients

• ENT / Audiology

The Outpatients Department is expected to complete migration during the following week.

Pharmacy:

The Hospital Pharmacy will open for normal service from Mater Dei Hospital after migrating from St. Luke’s between 2 and 10 November.