Alex Spiteri of Sta Lucija asked about the future of hydrotherapy services currently offered at St Luke's Hospital once this hospital closes down (May 14).

To answer this question and to explain why Mater Dei Hospital has no physiotherapy pool, one has to look at the wider picture consisting of an ongoing reform in hospital services. St Luke's Hospital is soon moving to Mater Dei Hospital which will serve as the country's new general acute hospital. This effectively means that its focus is on acute cases. Unlike St Luke's Hospital, Mater Dei will not admit social and long-term rehabilitation cases. The problems of overcrowding at St Luke's arise mainly from social and long-term rehabilitation cases occupying bed space that could be used for acute cases.

Hydrotherapy is not a treatment modality which is used during the acute phase of patient care. It is precisely for these reasons that there is no hydrotherapy pool at Mater Dei Hospital. This has nothing to do with space. The hydrotherapy pool forms part of the rehabilitation department which is included in the new 280-bed rehabilitation facility planned to be built in Luqa to provide capacity for rehabilitation cases currently treated at Zammit Clapp Hospital and St. Luke's.

In the interim period until the new rehabilitation facility is completed, part of St Luke's Hospital will serve as a temporary rehabilitation facility, taking over the services offered at Zammit Clapp Hospital and continuing those offered at St Luke's. Mr Spiteri and all patients who use this service can rest assured that the hydrotherapy service will continue to be provided from St Luke's and later from the new rehabilitation facility in Luqa with the same high quality of service offered today.

Works will also start at Zammit Clapp to transform this hospital into an oncology hospital with a substantial increase in bed capacity over the existing Boffa Hospital.