Mater Dei 'may outsource' childcare facility

The possibility of outsourcing the child-minding facility at Mater Dei Hospital is under discussion, a spokesman for the hospital said.

When contacted, he said market availability in the vicinity of the new hospital was being assessed with a view to issuing a tender in the near future.

The service would be free, he added.

The childcare centre, currently available at St Luke's Hospital, will continue to operate during and after local health services migrate to Mater Dei until an alternative location is found.

The Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations yesterday stressed that the childcare centre should be established within the hospital premises, as had been proposed in the original plan. It expressed its belief that offering an affordable, quality childcare service at Mater Dei Hospital would facilitate the return of staff to work.

It said the health sector was predominantly staffed by women, adding that research showed it was women who carried most of the burden of childcare. "Therefore, there is profound justification for the government to ensure that these women do not opt out of the labour market due to inadequate childcare services".

The confederation argued that an on-site childcare centre would offer parents the opportunity to take their children to the workplace without the inconvenience of having to take them somewhere else every day before work and pick them up afterwards.

"It would also give parents the opportunity to keep in close contact with the carers on a regular basis," it said.

The confederation said even if transport from Mater Dei to the premises was provided, it was unlikely that parents would be willing to subject their children to the inconvenience of travelling in a mini van to and from the centre.

The hospital spokesman said, however, that off-site child minding facilities were already available in other government hospitals, including Zammit Clapp.

He also said that the uptake of the St Luke's childcare service was "extremely low" although it was offered on site, with only about 25 children using it daily although the hospital has 3,500 staff members.

The spokesman said the hospital administration was willing to provide transport to and from the centre if the need arose. Moreover, he said, some people were against the childcare facility being based within Mater Dei due to "alleged possible risks" of children contracting infectious diseases.

The childcare facility at St Luke's Hospital caters for children between one and three years old.