The recent comments by the Ombudsman on the shameful situation that persists in our hospitals are not only justified but also long overdue. Having to wait for years to have major surgery that can change dramatically the quality of life of a person should no longer be
tolerated in a country that aims to be among the best in the European Union.
What is even worse is the fact that it appears that the Mater Dei Hospital authorities are not even sure of how long the waiting lists are for certain medical conditions. Records are perhaps kept by each department, but consolidated statistics are not easily available in order to enable the Minister to get a good idea of how serious the problem is.
The medical services in Malta are supported by hundreds of millions of euros of taxpayers’ money every year. Yet, they still do not meet the reasonable expectations of a majority of the Maltese people. Elderly people who have paid their national insurance contributions for several decades in the belief that the state would provide for their medical needs throughout their lives are the ones who are suffering the most.
The Minister responsible for the management of our public hospital system needs to do whatever it takes to change this unacceptable situation. A society that does not care for its elderly should be ashamed of itself. At a time when tax-
payers are hard pressed with the looming economic downturn, they should not be called to fork out even more money to support the medical service.
What is needed is good management that ensures not only the best quality of medical care is guaranteed to all those who opt for the public hospital service, but that this care should be provided in a
reasonable time. We need to focus more specifically on the elderly who can do little to find alternatives when the public services fail them.
Pensioners are already being badly hit by the very high inflation that is becoming endemic in our country. The fact that inflation in Malta last year hit 5 per cent, and remains the highest in the euro zone area, is another indication of the impotence of the present government to address the most serious problems being faced by our country.
Many elderly people who depend solely on the state pension are seeing the quality of their lives being seriously affected by rising inflation, inadequate state medical services and the general lack of interest of this government about their situation. The cost of medicine remains far too high and the fact that medicine that should be provided free to those who qualify is often not available, makes things even worse for people who are already struggling to cope.
The present administration lacks the political will to get to the root of the problems that are affecting people’s lives. Despite greatly overshooting the public expenditure predictions for 2008, the government remains insensitive to the hardships being suffered by the majority of Maltese families.
Rather than easing their burden, the government persists in charging unrealistic prices for water and electricity, fails to upgrade the medical services on which so many people depend and generally mismanages the resources of the country. It tries to cover this up with spin and empty rhetoric that only makes things worse for those who are on the receiving end of this indolence.
The PL will continue to be the voice of conscience of our society. We should be grateful to independent officials such as the Ombudsman who, from time to time, make public statements to denounce the mismanagement of the government.
If these efforts to bring to the surface the maladies that are affecting our society are maintained, we will no doubt succeed to shake this government out of its arrogance and lack of respect for those who are weak in our society.
[email protected]
Charles Mangion is PL Shadow Finance Minister