Medical services at the Gozo General Hospital have particularly improved during the last 15 years. The upgrade of various sections of the hospital is an ongoing process. The opening of the Ta' l-Ibrag session for the mentally disabled and male geriatric patients and the opening of Sant'Anna Residence for female geriatric patients have brought significant improvement to the care of these patients.

The upgrading of the Accident and Emergency Department and all the other wards of the hospital, including the enlargement of the outpatients department, have been useful and necessary measures that have given a better look to the hospital, providing more comfort to the patients and a better environment for the nursing and medical staff to work in.

At present, refurbishments are being carried out in the female general ward and the upgrading of the male general ward is in the pipeline.

The provision of medical care is a duty of the state, and the government should see to it that the best treatment is given at its only hospital in Gozo. When the new Mater Dei Hospital opens in July, the Gozitans will also be able to benefit from the services and state-of-the-art equipment that will be available there. The medical staff at the Gozo hospital is very efficient and is competent to deal with all medical emergencies. However staff also require certain equipment to enable them to carry out the right diagnosis so that the right treatment will be given.

In this day and age, a general hospital catering for a population of 24,000 - and double that amount in the summer months due to the influx of tourists and Maltese visitors - cannot function properly without a modern radiology department.

The present radiological equipment at the Gozo Hospital is old and inadequate for our times. There is no CT scanner and no mammography machine. These machines today are considered basic diagnostic equipment and a modern hospital cannot function without them.

So far all patients needing a CT scan or mammograms are referred to St Luke's Hospital with extra costs incurred by the taxpayer, hardship to patients and relatives, and loss of precious time prior to starting medical treatment, which can mean loss of lives. The radiological department requires modern equipment which will enable the doctors to carry out their work better to be installed. These amenities are more urgent now that the only private hospital in Gozo has closed down.

Another department that needs upgrading is the operating theatre - a section of the hospital which more or less remained in its original state since the hospital opened 32 years ago. One would imagine that this will need considerable capital outlay but every euro spent will be worth it as we are talking of human lives. With the refurbishment of the operating theatre and the installation of new electrical systems, air conditioning, and medical equipment, the possibility of performing more operations in Gozo will increase.

Other sections at the hospital requiring attention are the medical monitoring equipment at the CCU and the laboratory where old equipment needs to be replaced. Also, the incinerator is emitting poisonous gases and causing great inconvenience to nearby residents. This old incinerator needs to be completely shut down or upgraded to safe standards.

The hospital no longer depends on the budget of the Health Department for its needs. Wages are handed out by the Ministry for Gozo, which is also responsible for the employment of staff. In spite of its advantages, the autonomy has its disadvantages due to limitations and small scale.

Recently a call for tenders for studies to be carried out for the upgrading of the radiology department and the operating theatre were noted. We hope that when these studies are made the tenders will also be issued as quickly as possible. The ministry should get all the support from the government and the necessary funds so that it can implement all these changes and projects.

The Gozitans would appreciate having as many medical services as possible in Gozo. They would like to be treated at the new Mater Dei Hospital but only when the services in Gozo are not possible or the specialised medical expertise is lacking.