The government’s discussions with Steward Health Care have not yet concluded, but they are close, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne confirmed with The Malta Independent.
In September Fearne had also said that the two sides were close. The budget presented last Monday then revealed that Steward Health Care was going to get a €20 million increase in budget allocations for the Gozo General and Karin Grech Hospitals, raising questions if this was related to the concession talks. Fearne had said that this increase was about the government investing in the people of Gozo, and that there had not been any changes to the concession agreement.
Asked about the Steward-government discussions on Friday, Fearne said that Steward had taken over the concession, as it was, from Vitals Global Healthcare. “So the obligations the government had towards the concessionaire are now towards Steward Health Care, and the obligations the concessionaire had towards patients and the government need to be given to the government by Steward.”
Fearne said that Steward Health Care, early on asked the government to see if they can revise certain concession clauses as they believe they could provide a better service if there are some revisions. “We have no problem discussing with them always in the context of Maltese and EU laws and procurement regulations. Negotiations have been ongoing for a year and a half and it seems we are reaching the end of these discussions. What is clear is that Steward, at no point, were exempt from keeping to or providing for what they’re obliged to do within the concession as it currently reads. There is yet no change in the concession”
Again addressing the budgetary increase for the Gozo General Hospital, he said, reflects the increase in the health budget. “So the around €40 million we will be giving to the Gozo General Hospital is for wages, medicines and services in Gozo, and the above €20 million to Karin Grech Hospital is for the workers’ wages as well as services for patients.”
Asked whether the government is considering dissolving the contract, Fearne said that since the beginning of the discussions “we always said there are three options, one of which is the termination of the concession. But termination brings with it a number of consequences which you cannot mitigate by snapping your fingers.”
Fearne previously said that the other two options are choosing to do nothing, or agree on something better for patients.