Doctors' union denies some consultants not giving enough
Doctors are offended by Social Policy Minister John Dalli's claim that some consultants are not pulling their weight.
"I categorically deny this," the president of the Medical Association of Malta, Martin Balzan said.
The comment was made by Mr Dalli during a business breakfast on Tuesday. Speaking about the importance of having a "full service" hospital, he said: "I cannot have a situation where I have a team of five or six consultants and when you take everything into consideration you would find that their output is of one full-timer".
Dr Balzan said this was far from the truth because, despite the waiting lists, the total output of consultants was great. The 50-odd consultants working within the surgical departments still managed some 35,000 operations a year.
He said it was unfair to blame the waiting lists on consultants, after a damning report by the Ombudsman recently pointed an accusing finger at them, saying they maintain a stranglehold on the way operations are scheduled.
It was management's duty to address the situation, said Dr Balzan, adding that surgeons' requests for operating time exceed the available slots in the theatres in use.
Mr Dalli himself has admitted that 13 operating rooms in Mater Dei Hospital remain unused.
"It is the system that needs changing and it is up to management to do this," Dr Balzan said, highlighting the shortage of support staff as a contributing factor.
During the business breakfast, Mr Dalli also said that just two consultants opted for the clause in the collective agreement which binds them to work exclusively for the government.
This figure was contradicted by the MAM which said it was informed that at least 30 doctors opted not to do private practice in order to focus solely on their work within the public sector.
Dr Balzan said Mr Dalli might have been referring to the number of consultants working within the surgical department who opted for the scheme.
Although The Times asked a spokesman for Mr Dalli to clarify this, no reply was forthcoming yesterday. However, last July, Mr Dalli had said that 35 of the 40 consultants who opted for the scheme had not worked privately beforehand. There are about 180 consultants in the public sector.
The collective agreement signed at the end of 2007 gave them a big pay rise, with those forfeiting private practice set to earn more than double their salary, a rise from €30,307 in 2007 to just over €65,222 in 2010.
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Dr Francis Saliba
Jan 25th 2009, 22:40
@LeoSaid
In my opinion the problem is mainly financial and therefore political rather than medical. We have to cut our dress according to the material available. As it is, Malta can already pride itself of free medical and free educational facilities that are the envy of much wealthier countries such as Canada and the USA. The desired improvements must come at additional cost and our political leaders have the unenviable task of deciding our priorities intelligently.
Slandering a very good hospital and its hard working numerically inadequate staff is churlishly ungrateful and an absolute non-starter.
Leo Said
Jan 25th 2009, 16:17
I agree fully with Dr.Saliba that it is a desperate illusion to believe that foreign specialists, especially surgeons, would come to Malta to work under the prevailing conditions at present salaries.
It is also correct when Dr.Tortell Pisani says that junior medical staff should be paid more.
The problem, as was in the past, and is at present, is the lack of funds to accomplish a much needed reform of medical and health services.
Dr. Saliba is partially correct when he opines that "fewer operations in private clinics inevitably lead to longer waiting lists at Mater Dei Hospital".
Dr.Saliba unfortunately refrains from suggesting any practicable solution. He avoids mentioning how a possible private-public joint venture could function. Who operates in private clinics/hospitals and when? How are the doctors, who operate in private clinics/hospitals, remunerated?
I endorse the vision of Mr.Frank Portelli, who has been reported as saying that Mater Dei needs full-time consultants, who work exclusively for Mater Dei. The consultants should moreover have competent full-time senior registrars and junior registrars in their respective firms. A setup of this kind could be a first step to shorten waiting lists.
Dr Francis Saliba
Jan 25th 2009, 08:56
@CCamilleri
You have not thought out the obvious negative result of your suggestion especially when the present operating theatre facilities at Mater Dei Hospital are already running at full capacity.
Let me spell it out for you - fewer operations in private clinics inevitably leading to longer waiting lists at Mater Dei Hospital.
You suffer from the illusion that there is a queue of unemployed foreign surgeons, of equal competence to our indigenous staff, who are waiting to accept employment here with the same conditions as our Maltese doctors when there are better posts on offer abroad. That is not so! The last time Malta resorted to that "solution" the Maltese taxpayer had to accept foreign doctors of varying degrees of competence and to pay them huge salaries with additional expensive benefits for themselves and their families. And the overall service was much poorer than Malta had enjoyed before or since.
Dr. Saviour Tortell Pisani
Jan 25th 2009, 01:09
This is a repetition of the story of the Lecturers at University... A handful of Senior Staff get an apparently big rise at no expense WHILE the blood of the Junior Staff is being sucked dry for peanuts. The public is blind and ONLY sees the consultant salaries, nevermind the others! I know several dozen junior Maltese Doctors who have fled to Glasgow and Edinburgh for better conditions and career prospects.
The Government appeased the Union Officials (consisting of senior staff). It gets all the credit and an applause from the media by appearing like it's doing all it can - But in reality there is a great injustice going on!
The only reason, if only 2 consultants are choosing to work full time, is that they are much better paid privately. It is most certain that if the salaries are attractive enough they would offer the Government their full loyalty. It's a question of market forces!
The Government needs to pay more, much more! (ie: more than can be earned privately)
Calculator Dalli has finally met many calculating consultants!
c.camilleri
Jan 24th 2009, 17:14
This is a never ending story like the waiting list in our courts. Now one has yet managed to bring these people into line. AS regards our surgeons, these must be employed full time with the Govt and no private work allowed. As in most cases with the Govt workers, private practice is more remunerated. If nothing it is tax free. Govt must also look into the possibility of engaging foreign consultants if Maltese refuse its offer of full time employment.
MCassar
Jan 24th 2009, 12:58
In truth MAM represents no one but a select few consultants and is in no position to defend the pride of the profession.
Why does MAM never speak out against the appalling conditions of work faced by junior doctors (those lower in rank than consultants)? 30 hour shifts (and more!) are certainly not humane considering that their work brings them in direct contact with the plight of human suffering. No wonder they are leaving in droves.
The latest collective agreement signed by MAM is a stab in the back to the Maltese patient. It gave a handsome rise to the upper ranks but did nothing for the rest. .
The agreement ensures that very soon there will be no more junior doctors left in hospital. We are already well on the way there.... ask the many people who have had to wait for hours on end to be seen to in the emergency department...
Leo Said
Jan 24th 2009, 12:09
Andrew Cassar's effort to explain particular medical statistics is unfortunately somewhat superficial and too empirical.
In practice, it does not have to be a full consultant, who can for example remove warts and piles and varicose veins.
A trainee in surgery could also accomplish similar interventions under guidance of a competent registrar.
Andrew Cassar
Jan 24th 2009, 11:50
@Robert Zammit
Knowing how many operations a surgeon does at MDH and privately would only contradict what Mr Dalli is saying. I can assure you that far, far less than 35,000 operations are done privately a year. And most operations done privately are 5 minute jobs to remove warts, piles, tonsills and varicose veins, on the otherhand nearly all major operations like bypasses, colectomies etc are done at MDH which take hours to perform. So a surgeon can perform 5 minor operations privately in 2 hours and perform 1 major 4 hour operation in MDH!
You can hardly say he is giving more privately!!!
d briffa
Jan 24th 2009, 11:46
credit must be given to Mr Dalli for speaking publicly about this matter..
I am very sorry for M Dalli to have to take over the ministry of health after about 10 years of hibernation where total chaos and anarchy has reined..
Robert Zammit
Jan 24th 2009, 10:39
Maybe the Hon Minister should publish the number of operations done by all consultant surgions at Mater Die and in private hospitals/clinics respectively and then we can all judge who is doing their utmost and duty at Mater Dei , how about Mr Dalli ?
I'm sure the doctors and their union won't like that cos it would make all very obvious how hard they are working in the state hospital !!!
Leo Said
Jan 24th 2009, 10:08
A never ending story. Eternal entertainment.