Services standards to be set

Benchmarks for the services offered at Mater Dei Hospital's Admission and Emergency Department are being set in a bid to give the system a needed overhaul.

The benchmarks will establish standards for waiting times at the department as well as protocols leading to better organisation and a more standardised overall service, Social Policy Minister John Dalli and the Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joe Cassar said yesterday.

The overhaul of the department will be overseen by two new chairmen - Mario Vassallo and Godfrey Laferla, who head the medicine and surgical departments respectively.

The announcement was made as the authorities launched a national campaign urging people to use the department only for real emergencies.

Figures released during a press conference yesterday show that only 20 per cent of people who go to the A&E department need emergency treatment. Mr Dalli pointed out that such patients are not given the best possible service because of the other 80 per cent who do not need emergency care.

He said the authorities were embarking on a series of actions aimed at reaching the people's high expectations but he also highlighted the importance of a change in culture so that people do not go to hospital for every small ailment.

In parallel to the A&E overhaul, the government is also looking at a "full and drastic reform" in primary health care, Mr Dalli said, adding that the aim was to organise health centres better so that they can become a realistic alternative to Mater Dei Hospital.

"We want to change the profile of health centres, turning them into well-equipped centres able to offer services currently unavailable in a bid to ease pressure on the hospital," he said, adding that there was a possibility of having specialised centres.

Mr Dalli said work on this would start immediately but he stopped short of giving target dates. "This is an important issue and we will surely not be dragging our feet to do what is needed."

Questioned about the government's decision to close some health centres a few years back, the minister said figures showed that these were being manned for nothing during certain times. "This was putting pressure on the health system, especially in view of the lack of human resources," he said.

• Just under 36,500 patients went to the Admission and Emergency Department this year, the majority of whom - almost 28,000 - were classified as third priority and had to wait.

• The emergency department saw over 111,000 patients last year, just under 23,000 of whom were admitted to hospital.

• Just over 15,000 of patients seen at the A&E Department last year were taken there by ambulance.