Government may engage foreign managers for Mater Dei
Social Policy Minister John Dalli said this evening that foreigners may be engaged to help in the professional management of Mater Dei Hospital.
Speaking in an interview on the TV programme Dissett, the minister underlined the need for stronger management at the state hospital.
He said a major defect of the hospital was the way people were deployed, and a manpower study was in progress.
He also wished to see better controls in the way the hospital was administered with regard to waiting lists and the way supplies were dispensed and used. A hospital with a €180 million turnover also needed a better accounting system.
He said that with regard to the operating theatres, it hurt that because of a manpower shortage, half of the theatres were not being used. He wanted a plan for more operating theatres to be used, thus addressing the waiting lists for surgery. One possibility could be to engage a new class of workers specialised in the work of operating theatres who would not need the full four-year nursing course.
Asked about the shortage of nurses, Mr Dalli said he felt that nurses also needed to be better deployed so that all of them performed nursing duties.
Mr Dalli admitted that the migration from St Luke’s Hospital to Mater Dei had included the transfer of procedures and systems which should best have been replaced by new protocols. He said he did not want to judge anyone because there was also resistance to change, saying the important thing now was to correct what there was. A system which had been transported from St Luke’s and which needed to be changed was that on the administration of waiting lists. The lists, he said, were currently held by surgeons, consultants and doctors, something which needed to be completely revised because lists needed to be centrally administered.
The minister underlined the need for professional managers specialised in hospital management. Running a hospital was not like running a factory. This specialty was lacking, and if needs be, foreign professionals would be engaged to run the hospital in a professional manner, enabling the Maltese to quickly learn the various aspects of general hospital management which would balance resources.
When he was referred to comments he had given The Times about Mater Dei being a part-time hospital, Mr Dalli said that description still applied. While some sections were working into the evenings and on Sundays, many consultants disappeared from hospital after 2 p.m. and there was still too much leeway which needed to be addressed.
Mr Dalli said he had spoken to the representatives of the doctors, the nurses and others. All acknowledged the need for change and he was confident that change would come. He was confident that formulae would be found, as in the case of well run hospitals abroad, so that a hospital of the calibre of Mater Dei would give a complete service to the Maltese and, indeed, be a regional centre of excellence.
The government was accountable to the people and would insist that all sectors gave a full service to the people. One could not continue to have a situation where many were interested in seeing what time they had to work part-time elsewhere. Fundamental change was needed, and would be brought about.
Despite his criticism, Mr Dalli said he still awarded Mater Dei eight points out of 10 because the level of care was high.
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14 Comments
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Carmel Saliba
Nov 27th 2008, 21:44
The idea of Minister Dalli seems good, but not all foreign managers/experts better that the Maltese.
Attention should be taken about the design of Mater Dei and that of the Gozo General Hospital where their designers were foreign and were planned according to their country environment.
Is it really a need to have a hospital 24 hour seven days a week on aircondiotioning? Is the Maltese environment related to the plans of Mater Dei?
Why was the hospital planned on the electricity system?
And still it planners were foreign experts
What surprised me is that Minister Dalli is not the Minister for the only one hospital in the Maltese islands - The Gozo General Hospital.
This means that the doctors and nurses working at the Gozo General Hospital are outside the Health Division. What Minister Dalli is planning in Malta will not be implemented in Gozo.
Attention should be taken in this regards.
Conrad Thake
Nov 26th 2008, 11:24
I am sure that there are capable Maltese managers competent to do the job so long as politicians do not interfere. I thought that after recruiting highly paid foreign consultants to oversee the 13 year long construction of the Mater Dei hospital project we would have learnt our lesson. Let us start having faith in our own abilities.
Roderick Chetcuti
Nov 26th 2008, 11:19
Working at the a&e dept we r constantly seeing people waiting up to 12 hours just to find a place in wards. this happens especially monday mornings when the hospital is bulging with patients. the consultants and doctors seem to find it difficult to discharge patients on sundays and other festivities. also there are over 50 social cases in mater dei which was supposed to be an acute hospital. Some people also still seem to come to mater dei just to see it as if it was a tourist attraction and demand to be seen before acute patients as thay are bothered to wait. in my opinion a fee should be introduced for every patient registered at a&e, but as usual it wont happen and the massive waste of human resources and material will keep on going regularly.
E Gatt
Nov 26th 2008, 11:09
Will Mater Dei be more efficient and save costs if it was properly managed? Yes.
Does anyone in Malta have the experience in managing a large modern hospital? Probably not.
Do large modern hospitals exist outside Malta, and are some of them properly managed? Yes.
Are some of these experienced hospital managers willing to take on the Mater Dei challenge and train Maltese managers? Probably yes.
I think Mr Dalli’s challenge to existing practices makes sense and deserves support.
Gerard Cassar
Nov 26th 2008, 11:08
Not any person could be put in charge of something that is available, vacant. In Malta only a couple of ministers are experts in their job. A lawyer could very well occupy the Ministry of Justice or home affairs,an architect could be suited to be minister for works. But put in charge of agriculture some one who is only an avid consumer does not solve the agriculturl problems Any farmer could teach him lessons. An architect expert in building usually is not an expert on how to plant cabbages, milk a cow ,feed pigs... For a layman it is difficult to be in charge of health as much as it is difficlt for him to write a medical prescription.
In Malta Ministers are not chosen according to their expertise but according to their importance in the party.
Give a job to whoever is versed on the matter even a non parliamentarian.. Choosing candidates should keep that in mind. A Cabinet must be constituted of people who know the subject .There is a way out of this problem. Chose experts for ministers even outside parliament but without voting rights, adminstrators. They will of course speak in parliament without voting.
ray cini
Nov 26th 2008, 10:30
Dear Minister,
If you already know the problem, why are you going to wait for foriegn aid? Do you think they will do a better job? They will simply take more of our money. The answer is that we should have some decent guts and really take the bull from its horns and for once do not think of the precious vote, as it all leads there.
K Farrugia
Nov 26th 2008, 10:12
Agree with H Dempster.
So we offer excellent Under-grad and post-grad education at the university of Malta. We pay studetns stipends to encourage a good level of education, but then we always want to employ foreigners because we don't have enough confidence in local tallent and skill!!! It seems that employing a foreigner gives a greater deal of credibility to a government plan. So I ask, where shall the local talent go find employment? - as clerk's to these foreign people who think they know the local culture, mentatility and character better than the Maltese people know themselves? I surely do hope our ministers read these comments and start wondering why they believe the Maltese not to be capable enough!
mary abela
Nov 26th 2008, 09:34
Prosit Our minister hit the nail on the head at last ! One way to cut down the waiting list for surgery is for the list to be centrally controlled by the administration. This will avoid suspected 'hanky-panky' ! Keep going Mr Dalli but we want more action and less talk !!
H Dempster
Nov 26th 2008, 08:40
I cannot understand our maltese mentality as to why we always have to bring in foriegn people to manage our internal affairs. It seems that our Government likes it this way. How about importing a foreign goverment as well.
Anthony A. Mifsud
Nov 26th 2008, 08:20
Good way forward, Good one Johnny Cash.
Very Transperant!! That is the ony way to be " Completely Compliant"
Good Core Values.
Tony
Anthony Mizzi
Nov 25th 2008, 23:49
If I remember correctly foreign managers were also employed with Malta Drydocks before it was dismantled and also with Air Malta by Nationalist administrations, and we all know the results.
Hope it will not be another case of take the money and run.....
michael fenech
Nov 25th 2008, 23:45
The problem in Malta is not that the Maltese are not capable of managing,the problem the way I see it is that the GOVERNMENT keep appointing people (friends of friends) to these high profile positions which they are not qualified for.
Look what happened to the Shipyards.
David Bailey
Nov 25th 2008, 23:27
At least there is one Minister willing to admit mistakes and talk some sense..
J. Buhagiar
Nov 25th 2008, 23:15
Yeah maybe these foreign managers will do a great job like they did at the dockyard