There is more agreement with the Medical Association of Malta than there are differences, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela wrote in a social media post on Monday.

The Health Minister remarked that the halls of the Mater Dei Hospital are “being filled up again”, and continued that common sense and responsible duty should triumph.

“The agreement we have with the private sector is for the benefit of the sick… The solution is there,” he commented. “I humbly ask everyone concerned that we do not waste any more time in this crucial period.”

Last Thursday, the MAM council unanimously approved directives to doctors working in primary healthcare calling for only the Paola, Mosta, and Floriana centres to open for 24 hours on Friday 24th January and Thursday 28th January.

The union had registered a trade dispute over the transfer of patients to private hospitals, saying that it was not consulted as per collective agreement.

On Friday, MAM said that all doctors are obeying the directives at the health centres, and continued that it was surprised to hear of another irregular public-private partnership with the excuse of the directives.

In its own statement on Friday, the government said that while it respects a union’s right to industrial action, it must take action to make up for the impact that the union’s directives will have on the services offered. The government had set up temporary health services as a result of the directives coming into effect.

The government stated that it is determined to take on the weight of the directives to continue offering essential services in the community and protect the services offered at Mater Dei.