Monday was the day that many have been eagerly waiting for, the day that the Mater Dei Hospital was officially blessed and moved into cruising gear.

It has been a long drawn out and arduous process to get this massive project complete – but complete it is and now we can start to make use of it. There were many obstacles along the way, renegotiating the deal with the builders, dealing with just and unjust criticism and of course the whole migration plan.

There were a lot of fears before the move, mostly centralised on how the staff were going to deal with wholesale changes to the system (especially the IT sector) and the actual moving of patients from St Luke’s to Mater Dei.

But all in all, it was a very smooth process. The helicopter landing pad, which had seen reservations expressed at MEPA planning levels, also passed with flying colours. The real test, however, was moving the patients. It was expected to take 10 days, but things went so smoothly that the whole process only took nine. The biggest difference that one can see is the morale boost to staff, patients and their families. The environment is much more pleasant than the one we had at St Luke’s, and it rubs off on the way things are done in the hospital. Of course, the new deals signed whereby medical staff will see a much better pay packet have also helped the morale issue, but one can never underestimate the effect that the actual edifice has had on all concerned.

Everything is brand new, everything is shiny and the workforce really deserves this brand new state-of-the-art medical centre. Obviously, there will be teething problems. An anaesthetist gave an example during the press tour on the first day of migration. Very prudently, the main operating theatres were utilised to carry out day surgery. One such glitch they found was that there was no ice making machine in one of the theatres. We will not say we hope that you have the chance to utilise this glorious facility, but what we can say is that we are sure that anyone will be given the utmost care if they are unfortunate enough to be taken ill.

That hospital is a marvel. It cost a fair packet, but at the end of the day, health is health and money should not be an issue. We have all paid our taxes towards it and have contributed to it as a people. But as the prime minister has said, the hospital really should not be used as a political football. It cost what it cost. It is there, it is operating and it is an absolute marvel of medical engineering.

We cannot exactly say that we should enjoy it, no one enjoys hospital, but we should be grateful for what we have and we should leave the hospital and – a big and – the staff who give medical care to carry out their duties. They know exactly what they are doing, they have been doing it for years and they have earned a very good reputation worldwide for the care they give. Mater Dei is what our people deserve and now we should just let the medical profession settle down so they can continue to give us the service they pride themselves on. A big thank you to all of them.