Joe Cassar would have been politically crucified if, under his watch as Health Minister, an order had been issued for non-emergency surgery to be postponed because of overcrowding in the hospital.

But is seems that, with the change of government, people have come to expect less from our politicians.

The health sector was one of the favourite targets for attack by the Labour Party when it was in opposition. Its media invariably talked of shortcomings at Mater Dei Hospital and elsewhere, to give the impression that the system was collapsing. Footage of patients in corridors, taken surreptitiously by mobile phones, and sob stories from unidentified people were the order of the day. In almost each news bulletin we had someone talking about some specific type of medication that had not been provided for him or her free of charge because it was out of stock. There were times when the attacks were directed at Joe Cassar personally, as well.

The Labour Party had strongly hinted that it had the magic wand solution to all the problems that existed. You will all remember the “roadmap” Joseph Muscat kept referring to in the run-up to the election. You will all remember Labour Party exponents speaking in a way that led us to understand that, when in power, Mater Dei would become a hospital where perfection reigned. We were led to believe that with a snap of the fingers, everything would be put into place.

But it was not to be – and it soon became clear that the problems that existed at Mater Dei Hospital under the Nationalist government were not so easily resolved as Labour would have us believe. The waiting lists remained – and grew longer; the number of medicines out of stock grew; people were still made to wait for hours before being seen at the Accident and Emergency Unit and patients were still kept in corridors for many long hours, if not days, before they were taken to wards.

In a nutshell, everything remained the same.

Now they have become worse. The decision that was taken in the last few days – that all non-emergency surgery was to be postponed because of overcrowding issues – is unprecedented. It never happened with Joe Cassar as minister. It has happened now under a government that promised it had solutions for the hospital when it was easy to say so from the Opposition benches. It has happened under a new Minister, Godfrey Farrugia, who thought he could bring the situation under control in a short space of time, only to find that saying something is altogether different from implementing it.

If, according to the then Labour Opposition, the health sector was in a shambles under a Nationalist government, then using the same benchmark it has now plummeted to new depths of maladministration. Nine months down the line, it is clear that the Labour government had no key to the problems at Mater Dei Hospital.

If anything, by taking the extreme measure of postponing operations, it is admitting that it has given up.

All this has taken place in spite of having a minister who boasted of being the first to have an office in the hospital complex. We heard so much about this when it was announced, but we do not hear about it anymore. Does it still exist? If it does, is the Minister ever there?

And it has also all taken place in spite of the appointment of a former Health Minister, John Dalli, to draw up a report on the situation at Mater Dei and offer solutions. If anything, this report has led to bad blood between the government and the unions representing doctors and nurses, whatever the government does to distance itself from what John Dalli wrote.

Added to this, it’s not that the report has exposed anything new. In the words of outspoken Labour MP Marlene Farrugia, what John Dalli said were things “we already knew”.

There’s another thing. We have overcrowding at Mater Dei – with the consequence that non-emergency surgery has been postponed – at a time when we are still to enter the crisis period. The colder winter months are still to come. Usually, the peak is reached in late December through to early February. So what is going to happen in the next few weeks when the usual cold snap hits?

And what about the waiting lists for surgery that will inevitably grow because of the decision taken this week? How is the government planning to tackle the accumulation of surgical interventions that need to be undertaken? Will this put even more stress on doctors and nurses? Is it fair that consultants have been made to choose between their own patients?

This is not to mention the trauma faced by patients who are literally entering Mater Dei after psychologically preparing themselves for surgery, only to be told that they have to go home because there is no room for them. Will the hospital take responsibility if, for some reason, their physical condition is aggravated because of this delay? What if someone dies?

So far, as the list of postponed operations grows, these patients have not been given new dates for their surgery. When will a decision be taken? Is there is a risk that, once a new date is given, the surgery will be postponed a second time?

This government has taken decisions that have continued to hurt the health sector and add to its woes. It broke off an agreement reached with the previous government for emergency services to be provided in private hospitals at weekends at the government’s expense. It has also terminated an agreement to take over St Philip’s Hospital, which would have substantially increased the number of beds available. It has decided, against the learned wishes of the consultants involved, to divide cardiac surgery and non-invasive treatment of heart conditions into two departments.

And now – to top it all – this.

What a shame.

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