The Medical Association of Malta (MAM) said that the Health Minister’s public reaction which categorically denied claims the MAM made following the conclusion of the inquiry into Stephen Mangion’s death, confirmed the impression that government is trying to blame the medical profession for its failures.
In a statement issued Thursday, the MAM quipped back at the Health Ministry, after it had warned government not to use the medical profession as a scapegoat for its own failures, with Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela criticising the union for stonewalling sectoral reforms.
The Ministry on Wednesday had accused the MAM of adopting a “persistent obstructive stance” and listed 18 instances where the association obstructed or slowed down reforms.
“MAM respects the Minister for his good intentions and the energy put in, however the development of Health Infrastructure needs international civil engineering experts from larger countries who have the necessary experience. There is no room for amateurs or party cronies in this,” the statement read.
The association noted how the Minister’s public reaction “confirms its impression that the Health Ministry is trying to blame the medical profession for its shortcomings, rather than acknowledge that it is the result of a few individuals who betrayed patient’s interest for personal gain at the expense of the health of the nation.”
The MAM said it was surprised at Minister Abela’s list of 18 points which the Ministry accused the association of obstructing.
“First of all, it is not normal practice to publish points of discussion, as public disclosure compromises discussion irreversibly and inevitably leads to failure,” the association said.
“While it is true that MAM is aware of these 18 points. The majority of them were presented to the MAM as a “fait accompli” (something which has been already decided) about 15 minutes before these were delivered to hospital medical staff,” the association said.
The MAM said that while few of the points had no logic at all, the rest were difficult to implement.
“MAM’s impression was that these measures were proposed by persons close to the Labour Party whose main interest was not that of their country but rather their own,” the association said.
It continued that the only proposals which could be “workable” were those on the Emergency department, but they needed major re-thinking for successful implementations.
“Apparently, the Minister has not been informed of the developments,” it said.
“No trade union which has at heart the interests of its members can accept such an approach. MAM looks forward to a more positive dialogue where discussion precedes decisions, not vice versa,” the MAM said.