Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela has said that Mater Dei Hospital is currently running below its carrying capacity as inpatients dropped as a result of the government's decision to outsource certain procedures to the private sector.
Speaking to The Malta Independent, Abela said that Mater Dei Hospital is currently running reasonably below its carrying capacity with less than 1,000 inpatients as a result of a new government policy to outsource surgical procedures to three private hospitals.
It's a policy which has attracted some controversy, as the Medical Association of Malta which represents doctors, issued industrial directives and argued that it was not properly consulted about the decision.
Abela told this newspaper that the MAM's recent directives had reduced the number of patients being transferred to private hospitals for their operations "to a trickle."
"There is no one in Malta or Gozo who doubts the aim and effectiveness of the initiatives now," Abela said and bolstered his statement by saying that a number of patients have undergone procedures, such as that for appendicitis, through the private sector and "were home by the following day."
He was pleased to point out that currently Mater Dei occupancy is comfortably below carrying capacity at "less than 1,000," which consequently allowed him to be in the operating theatres himself on Wednesday morning.
The Health Minister scrubbed in and helped colleagues with two medical operations in hospital on Wednesday before Parliament which was held later in the day. He told The Malta Independent that he was assisting colleagues in a laparoscopic surgery.
Abela has had special permission from Cabinet to assist in a limited number of medical procedures in state hospitals since November 2022.
Speaking about the MAM directives, Abela said that it was "with a heavy heart" that many operations, particularly orthopaedic, with the explicit exception of oncology [cancer-related], had to be cancelled until the initiatives which allowed the outsourcing of the private sector came into force.
With regards to the recent directives issued by the MAM, Abela noted that though it reduced the number of patients to a "slow trickle", patients are still being transferred.
The initiatives were born out of the government's need to reduce the workload on Mater Dei Hospital, particularly during winter months.
Directives were issued by the MAM at the beginning of January with the association instructing doctors at Mater Dei to take a take a hands-off approach in patient transfers to the private sector for procedures, as it said that the Health Ministry had decided to proceed with the private sector outsourcing without obtaining MAM's written consent, which it needed by law.
A reconciliatory meeting last Friday between a government delegation, including Abela, and the MAM did not get anywhere with the MAM walking out on the grounds of an "unprofessional attitude" from the government's part and the government claiming that the MAM was grossly ill-prepared for the meeting.
Another more cordial meeting was held on Monday, with MAM President Martin Balzan telling The Malta Independent that proposals had been presented by the union to government officials for their consideration.