It has now been years that the whiff of corruption has hung around the gift of three of our hospitals to shady operators. First it was Vitals Global Healthcare. Now it is Steward Health Care. I have myself addressed the issue in parliament several times. Yet each time I discover something new that is rotten.

The VGH hospital deal is, by far, the biggest scandal our country has ever seen. Biggest not just in terms of the scale of corruption. Biggest also in human cost – the health of present and future generations.

In preparation for last week's parliamentary debate on the subject, I dug up some documents which continue to reveal how this deal was all meticulously planned out. Nothing was left to chance.

Five years ago, on 15 March 2015, the Opposition presented an interesting motion in parliament. At the time I was the shadow health minister, and so I was the one to present the motion for the second reading. However, the brain behind this motion was Claudio Grech, who had worked on it as my predecessor.

We proposed a new right for patients. When not given the treatment necessary or in a timely manner in Malta, patients would be given the right to seek treatment abroad, paid for by the State.

Earlier that same day, Joseph Muscat, then prime minister, gave a speech at a very pompous press conference which took place in Gozo. He announced the signing of an agreement with Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. We all remember the photo: Muscat took half his cabinet to Gozo for this signing.

That evening, in parliament, I quoted what Muscat had said earlier. He had said: “This agreement will pave the way for a €200 million investment in our healthcare infrastructure creating 1,200 new healthcare related jobs in Malta and Gozo …"

He continued: "The existing Gozo General Hospital will be redeveloped … The total capacity will increase from 291 to 450 beds, with 125 of them being utilised for medical tourism, while at the same time expanding the spaces and services for locals."

But there was more: "St. Luke’s Hospital will come back into life. There will be a rehabilitation area, fully equipped labs for CT Scans, PET Scans and MRIs and a new dermatology centre servicing about 35,000 outpatients yearly."

And finally: "The Karin Grech premises will be renovated too, to accommodate 270 long-term geriatric patients. All these three hospitals will be upgraded to be in the Mater Dei class.”

Yes, right. The only truth in Muscat’s speech was that Mater Dei Hospital had set a standard. He promised all three hospitals would reach that standard. We all know now that this was a fake promise.

In parliament, I voiced the Opposition's doubts about the VGH project. I asked if this was a done deal. Muscat had announced too many details, when the Government had not yet even issued an expression of interest. I asked if the Labour Party had met these “investors” before the 2013 general elections.

Konrad Mizzi, then health minister, stood up to reply to my speech. He stated that this was not a privatization but a public private partnership. He also insisted that there would be: “Clear service agreements with the private partner”. The government would have “practically full control on the delivery.”

He added: “So to speak, there will be a fair process and the right to appeal in the light with normal competition procedures.” Mizzi claimed that there was already “strong” interest from multinational companies.

Once more, looking back we know that these were all lies. The Opposition did not believe them then. Who believes them now?

In Thursday’s debate, the Government side struggled to convince anyone. Chris Fearne, for example, spoke about Barts and about Steward Health Care but, conveniently, completely left out VGH. Many of those who had appeared at the Barts press conference, a few years back, chose to remain silent on Thursday.

Despite all this, they still voted against honesty and good sense, to support a deal that defies all honest good sense. But there were interesting things to note about the Labour vote.

First, Mizzi was absent. We later read in the media that he is overseas and provided a doctor’s certificate. I wonder who gave him the advice to do that.

Second, Muscat was absent from the debate. The man who trumpeted the deal’s virtues, and who lobbies for it today, chose not to speak on its behalf. He just turned up to vote.

Finally, there was the only Labour man who did not vote for it. Manuel Mallia was present in parliament for a good chunk of the debate. But he left just before the voting began. Maybe he just could not stomach it.

With each passing day, more and more people will find themselves unable to stomach it.