Visiting hours at Mater Dei Hospital are to be extended as from Monday 26 October, this newsroom has learnt. The change will see the number of hours more than double.

As things stand, visitors are only allowed half an hour in the mornings and a total 2.25 hours which are staggered in the evenings.

The new visiting times are 11.30 a.m. till 1 p.m. and 3 to 8 p.m. Monday to Sunday. The current visiting hours are Noon to 12.30 p.m., 3.45 to 5.30 p.m. and 7.30 to 8 p.m. As things stand, there is also a difference in hours on weekends but the new visiting hours during weekdays and weekends will be the same.

Contacted by this newsroom and asked why the hospital management felt the need to change the visiting hours, Mater Dei Hospital CEO Ivan Falzon explained that society is changing and people don’t have much time on their hands any longer, hence the changes to the visiting hours.

“The reality is that if a person who visits his mother at hospital during a difficult time arrives late and is asked to leave after 15 minutes from his arrival, his or her reaction won’t be too good,” he said.

“Sometimes we tend to forget that when dealing with sick patients, we are also dealing with a number of family members undergoing a traumatic experience.

“Hospital is not immune to societal changes. With a more active society where time is a valuable resource, we believe that it is our obligation to provide our clients with more accessibility and flexibility,” Mr Falzon explained.

He also pointed out that published research shows that immediate families play a pivotal role in patient recovery.