The Nationalist Party has once again said that the challenges being faced in the national health sector need to be addressed seriously with both major parties working together for the benefit of the national interest.

“There are no colours in health, we must work together to address these issues,” health spokesman Adria Delia said Thursday. “That is mature politics and that is what is necessary.” He stated that with all the social injustices impacting the health sector, the PN wishes to provide solutions in the short-term, medium-term, and the long-term.

Delia spoke about how the sector impacts every person in the country and that its shortfalls have tremendous consequences on society. He said some of the main issues that are affecting health across the Maltese islands, namely, the problems being experienced in the emergency room at Mater Dei Hospital, the long-lasting effects of the Vitals-Steward scandal, long waiting lists, packed wards, out-of-stock medicines, and the social ramifications being forced on the country’s financially challenged.

Delia said that if one had to describe the state of the country’s health sector, it would be reminiscent of a case requiring emergency care. “We are tired of hearing about cases of people waiting long hours or even days to receive immediate care,” he said. “Emergency must be quick as the consequences can be life-threatening.”

PN’s shadow health minister then moved on to speak about the consequences being faced by citizens as a result of “the greatest fraud that our country has ever witnessed” – the Vitals-Steward scandal. He said that it “should have resulted in a world-class health service, but instead resulted in a world-class fraud.”

Delia highlighted that the €400 million paid from public money to the private sector was stolen from Maltese and Gozitans.

Moving on to waiting lists, he referenced a parliamentary question (PQ) that made the news this month about the MRI waiting list; it was found that the MRI waiting list had nearly doubled in six months, and that over 15,000 people had now been waiting for an MRI scan.

“The people shall continue to suffer,” Delia said. On this point, he added that with this news, we now know that long waiting lists are no longer exclusive to impending surgeries, but now also apply to tests that are necessary for citizens to confirm or reject a diagnosis to see if they need certain interventions or not.

Packed hospital wards are “depriving patients of their human dignity,” Delia continued. He described the situation of crammed hospital beds – in which he said some patients are temporarily put on stretchers until hospital staff allocates a room for them – and how this leads to mitigated hygiene and near to no privacy.

Delia also touched on the out-of-stock medicines that are also hindering local healthcare. He stated that unavailable medicines are “creating an exercise that takes weeks instead of hours” for people to receive their required treatment.

“This is creating a social issue,” he said. “This situation is causing people to not be able to rely on [the country’s] free healthcare. They are feeling like they must pay for private healthcare, which some people cannot afford to do.”

Stephen Spiteri, PN’s shadow minister for social policy, reiterated his colleague’s statement that “Mater Dei is drowning”. He mentioned how in Mater Dei’s emergency room, it is normal for many patients to have to wait till the following morning before a doctor can see them and to then wait more hours for a room to be available.

“If you require certain tests to confirm a potential diagnosis, you may have to wait months to even get your tests scheduled, which by then, your diagnosis could worsen,” Spiteri said. On this same notion, he also mentioned worsening lists of pending (minor) surgeries and trauma lists.

Spiteri then said that certain criticisms being tabled by PN were already the case “when the Labour government was already saying that this country was too small for just Mater Dei Hospital – which was before the population explosion we have recently observed.”

He then called for serious public-private partnerships (PPPs) that are “unlike Vitals-Steward” before describing the “mediocre” and “inadequate” state of Mount Carmel Hospital.

Speaking about mental health, Spiteri condemned the government for continuously promising to develop a new mental health hospital to be used instead of Mount Carmel, “yet we’ve stayed as we were, and many vulnerable patients still suffer from poor experiences there.”

Mentioning a PQ he had asked this week, PN’s shadow minister for social policy said that amongst the 264 present patients at Mount Carmel Hospital, 55 of them are being treated for mental health issues that have derived from their substance abuse.

“There is no compromise in health, health should be available for everyone – especially to the most vulnerable.”

Spiteri called for action to be taken to reduce all the delays mentioned and that “humane resources and adequate infrastructure” are required to care for all vulnerable patients.

He then concluded by describing his party’s vision in regards to health – “so that we’ll return to the level that this country once had” and to “guarantee that health is offered to everyone, for free, and without discriminating against anyone.”