The PN on Tuesday blasted yet another delay to the opening of the long-awaited Paola Health Hub, saying that patients have another year of waiting and suffering ahead of them.

“The Government keeps failing the Maltese people in healthcare,” the PN said in a statement.

The PN said that what is happening with the Vincent Moran Health Centre in Paola is another example of this, noting that the government is now saying that there is nearly another year to go before it opens its doors to patients.

The PN noted that the Paola Hub was approved back in 2017 and was supposed to cater for 600,000 people by 2020.

“When they realised that the 2020 deadline would be impossible to meet, they started changing the dates. In 2021, they told us that the Southern Hub would start operating in April 2022, but by November 2022 they had changed that to May 2023,” the party said.

“Six months later, we were told it would open in March 2024, and before last June’s election, we witnessed a stunt by Robert Abela and Jo Etienne Abela, who invited the media and, in front of the cameras, gave the impression that only some finishing touches were left before the hub opened to the public,” it added.

The party continued that once the election passed, people were told that only certification was missing before the centre could open.

However, in January, news emerged that another direct order worth €1.7 million had been issued for this hub, while in February, we learned that another €10 million still needed to be spent for the hub to be completed, the party said.

“Now, the Government is saying that we have to wait until the end of the year for this hub to open,” it said.

“Almost another year of waiting. Almost another year of suffering for patients. Almost another year where our money has been spent, but we are not receiving the service,” the party lamented.

The PN appealed for the Government to roll up its sleeves and do everything necessary to ensure that this centre opens and starts operating as soon as possible. “The people want action, not posing for the cameras. The people deserve better.”

The statement was signed by PN MPs Adrian Delia, who is the Shadow Minister for Health, and Ian Vassallo, who is the Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Mental Health.