Relatives urged to take care of post-op patients

Marianna Galea Xuereb

Feb 11th 2009, 14:04

And yet there are whole sections of perfectly serviceable, structurally sound wards at St. Luke's hospital which can be used to house post-op patients. Why have these been abandoned?
Successive legislators in this country have chosen to build a new hospital at exorbitant costs when they could have modernized St. Lukes Hospital AND the Mtarfa British Services Hospital at a mere fraction of the cost AND without sacrificing so much land. Besides we would have ended up with TWO state hospitals - a situation which offers a measure of insurance against - God forbid but still possible risks - acts of terrorism, sabotage, natural disasters, random contamination etc. So much for environmental concerns, risk management and economic efficiency and effectiveness!

R.Gauci

Feb 11th 2009, 13:05

Ghalinqas onest Dr.Cassar!

C.R. Taliana

Feb 11th 2009, 10:35

@A. Zammit I believe yours is a true story, but still a lame excuse for the fact that hospital should have been built with more rooms and beds.

I have a query to all to any medical expert out there. Shouldn't post-op patients be kept in hospital for at least 48 hours? What if they still need to stay on the drip?

Alfred Gouder

Feb 11th 2009, 09:28

I won't say 'Pajjiz tal-Mickey Mouse' because even Mr Mouse himself would be ashamed if this were his country.

d. borg

Feb 11th 2009, 09:28

Is the govt offering extra paid leave to care for the patients or is he expecting us to take days from our own leave?

Mike Magri

Feb 11th 2009, 08:59

Dear Dr. Cassar.... If i were you, i would have rather resigned than issueing such an official statement of CLEAR CUT FAILURE in your Government`s Social and Political reponsibilities towards the Health of the already Heavilly Taxed Maltese Citizens.....!!!!

Do you really want to tell us that after spending some 700 million euro in this State of the Art, Mater `Dejn` hospital, we just CANNOT give the full medical care to our heavilly financially battered Citizens, JUST BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH BEDS.......!!!???!!!???

Oh my God... That`s really a very serious situation the say the least..

philip pace

Feb 11th 2009, 08:16

The Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joseph Cassar yesterday called on relatives of patients recovering from operations to care for them at home in order to free up needed hospital beds.

Oops I nearly missed this.

So the loud fanfare of this state of the art hospital after sounding so bright by the PM is now sounding discordant by his ministers and secretaries.

What one big mess.

A secretary stating the above should be ashamed of himself and his statement is not acceptable.

We were led to believe that this hospital built with our hard earned money would be a jewel but it turned out to be another pie in the sky.

Having volunteers manning the reception and other places, no water dispensers, long queues, doctors and other professional not pulling their weight and the hospital described as a part time hospital by John Dalli shows exactly the way that it is really a state of art of shame!
'

Miriam Ellul

Feb 10th 2009, 12:42

Any patient who has just undergone an operation, needs individualized care and attention..... especially during the week that follows...much more than a relative can give! Some cases need even more attention! That's how people should be treated!! One cannot go for an operation, bearing in mind, that once he is sewn up he is kicked out of hospital! I'm sure this won't help his situation. I honestly thought that the days (which I remember well, when I used to work in St.Luke's) of shortage of beds were over. We know, that sometimes patients get infections from hospitals, where strict aseptic measures are supposed to play a big part....imagine what he or she will get if sent at home in the care of a person who knows nothing about such sterilizing techniques!!! Will the relative be given a crash course about post operative care??? Why, then, all these upgraded standards of nurses with BSc and Diplomas, if a relative is enough to care for the patient?? I think we were better in the worst of times!!!!

ray huber

Feb 10th 2009, 09:15

I honestly do not see why so many are surprised by the comments of the Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joseph Cassar. My surprise would have been if it was said! Next we will be asked to offer our spare bedrooms to host patients who do not have a spare one at home.

It is a disgrace that after all those millions of euro spent, we are still in a laughing situation or rather sickening!

But what amazes me most is the fact that these said politicians still present themselves in public and do there utmost to convince the people that it is not there fault that such situations occur.

martin portelli

Feb 10th 2009, 00:54

@ A Zammit

THe parliamentary secretary isn't talking about social cases here , he's talking about post op patients specifically. A great number of Maltese families still care for their elderly and are familiar with the difficulties of nursing bed ridden parents or relatives , A good number will know the travail of hourly turning, washing, feeding and medicating bed sores, leg ulcers or dealing with senile dementia.Otherwise the waiting list for SVDP would be much greater than the 650 cited by Minister Dalli. A greater number of families don't burden the state with their elderly! Post op patients are a diverse group of clients . Half baked ideas of flogging drive - through surgery smack of crisis management . A sad expression really of a sorry state .
Oversubscription at Mater Dei isn't the result of social case overstay , it's the result of dimwitted logistical planning.

lgalea

Feb 9th 2009, 22:46

A Zammit
That was in St Lukes, not in Mater Dejn.
This is in no way to justify what the relatives did to the old man because they should be ashamed of themselves.

J.Brown

Feb 9th 2009, 22:40

this is really a case of bad planning going really bad by people in the health sector who previously assured everyone that everything was plain sailing when the writing on the wall was showing otherwise. However, I am at least comforted that there are now people who are no longer denying that there are very serious difficulties and are calling a problem by its name, and above all are genuinely trying to lift the sector form the mess it is in - it could be the light at the end of the tunnel for this sector to get on its two feet, afterall, so lets be positive .

Kenneth Galea

Feb 9th 2009, 21:32

Stephen Abela I feel the same about the two main political parties. I agree with you when you say it is outrageous to discharge patients from hospital because there is a serious shortage of beds. This article really beggars belief and a large number of people are moaning about the Mater Dei hospital, shortage of staff, beds etc etc. If you don't have a private medical insurance really you are doomed.

stephen abela

Feb 9th 2009, 20:31

@ J Cuajar I have been voting PN since 1987 but I have never kept back from criticizing the PN when in government especially these past few months since the last elections. It is plain to see that the PN did not expect to win last March and are running the country on a day to day basis. This last plea by Dr. cassar is really outragious. after all the hype about mater dei being state of the art this really takes the cookie. Now if I were to be given 290 euros raise a week I would even consider quitting my job to look after my aged father. The country is going to pieces or those who want to see. You will notice that i did not mention the PL as I think they have no idea what to do if or rather when they come to power and that's Malta's greatest tragedy.

A Zammit

Feb 9th 2009, 20:25

I agree with Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joseph Cassar 100%. I don’t know how many of you were patients. I passed a total of 30 days as a patient in St Luke’s Hospital. I will never forget the day when I entered the Medical Ward and was suddenly embraced and hugged by an old patient because he thought that I was his child. I was stunned and till this day, I still vividly remember the old patient’s face. I asked other patients what happened to this man and their unanimous answer was “He was dumped by his very own children”. His only belongings were a pyjamas and a plastic glass. This is not an invented story but my very own experience. Go and ask the head of wards and they will tell you that this is not the only case. Actually, I was told that these cases are one of the major problems in the Hospital.

M Grech

Feb 9th 2009, 20:11

What a mess! And these people want to embark on a reform of family doctors, probably the only health related service that works efficiently in this country! Deo libera nos.

Gerald Fenech

Feb 9th 2009, 19:45

I have enjoyed reading the comments here as not one seems to be in favour of this proposal. All I can say is that a year later, everyone now knows what GonzipN was all about.

Ray Fava

Feb 9th 2009, 19:33

My father Charles Fava, a 92 year old pensioner is slowly dying. Since the 1st of January, 2009 he has been in and out of Mater Dei three times. During these visits he was administered the last sacraments twice. The last itme this took place was last Tuesday and incredible but true he was discharged from hospital the day after. When I enquired why he was being discharged when he was still so weak, I was told that they feared that he might contract an infection. My reply was: Can't he also contract an infection from the old people's home (paid for by my father) where he was being sent to?

The second time he was admitted to Mater Dei my father spent a total of 12 days. When he was discharged I pointed out that he still required constant medical attention. Incredibly five days later my father again went unconscious and had to be rushed back to Mater Dei where it took them hours to find him a bed.

Such are the dire straits of bed availabilty at Mater Dei.

Actions speak louder then words and my actions in favour of my beloved father speak for themselves Dr. Cassar

Anthony Mizzi

Feb 9th 2009, 18:41

Oh come on, a state of the art hospital costing over Lm300 million, taking 17 years to complete and you want us to take patients home after operations to free hospital beds?



Never in St. Luke's Hospital's history had such a proposal come up and we get such a proposal in the second year of Mater Dei Operations.



It is State of the Art Health Care that we want and not state of the art buildings



If Dr. Cassar is not joking, he is to be held personally responsible for the patients' health and well being during and after the transportation service and after care at patient's home.



A small proposal - why can't Polyclinics like the Qormi Polyclinic be converted into Clinics taking on small operations to lessen the load on Mater Dei?

acutajar

Feb 9th 2009, 17:51

Unbelievable!

Less beds in a new STATE hospital and the population keeps increasing unlike the crazy short to long-term forecasts of some demographers/ experts who think they know it all!!

And then, to add insult to injury, people are being asked to utilise their homes as an extension of the hospital (but without that much-needed professional assistance irrespective of the patient's response to post-operative treatment!).

And how dare propose to the people to utilise their vacation leave days for this purpose?

Why not propose a win-win solution for all given these circumstances? Government or employers grant ADDITIONAL SPECIAL leave days/ hours for all those willing to alleviate this problem. This can be implemented through a pre-agreed and certified authorisation procedure from BOTH employers and consultants assigned with patients that had undergone specific operations.

J Cutajar

Feb 9th 2009, 17:41

So the poor fellow is now pleading to vacate beds by taking our relatives still recovering from surgery back home. Perhaps the next plea will be for volunteers from the community to go to Mater Dei and take care of post-op patients. This really takes the biscuit Joe. Are we being called to play nurse during a period of recovery which calls for pofessional attention? And what about time off work, community nursing support, delivery of medicine, and doctor calls? Hang on.....are we supposed to fork out for all this when we are still paying for the state of the art hospital? Here's a thought for those in the echolons of power - before you blurt out stuff, check out the fallout first. How about some famly friendly meaures to support your plea Joe? Sure it hurts on the Government's pocket. But hey no pain no gain! State of the art my foot. Why GonziPN apologists are conspicuous by their absence?

A.Bezzina

Feb 9th 2009, 16:43

This is insane. Coming from a psychiatrist.! Does he know what post-op care entails?

D.MANGION

Feb 9th 2009, 16:25

Dr. Joseph Cassar's statement is the apotheosis of the total detachment that this government has created from the population in general.

This statement has left, even the harshest of PN's apologists' speechless! Not even one blogger can find a word of defence for this "ovorevoli."

So allow me to defend him.

Miskin he is doctor ! He has no idea, that most of us poor idiotic workers have to plan our leave as early as January for the rest of the year. He is ignorant of the fact that most employers of SME's plan the "leave days" of their employees themselves. Maybe he thinks that the word "summer shutdown" is a sort of an agreement in which everybody is happy to take a collective holiday. He is oblivious of the fact that there are times when a worker is on leave, and all of a sudden receives a call from his superior, ordering him to return to work immediately due to staff shortage, caused by sickness or by an urgent huge order !

Time to re-introduce the working class in politics. Am I right in suspecting that the present parliament does not have even one "working class hero" ?

valerie cassar

Feb 9th 2009, 15:53

I don't recall this call ever being made when we were served with St. Luke hospital and keep in mind that St. Luke's was not tate of the art! What about those persons who are unable to take leave from work? Dr. cassar not everybody works as an MP you know.

Lawrence Bonello

Feb 9th 2009, 15:48

Ok! But will he propose to Cabinet that anyone taking him up on his request be given a tax-rebate?
After all, wewould be paying for a service we are not receiving!!

Franco Farrugia

Feb 9th 2009, 15:44

Stupefying. So much money was thrown into this state-of-the-art hospital, and then, ... this! Demanding relatives to look after post-op patients.

Does this mean that post-op patients will be forced to be discharged sooner than they should actually be? Such a question should be answered!

Anthony Roberts

Feb 9th 2009, 15:39

Gosh to think of all the money that was spent, and all the land that was lost to housing, there are not enough beds. These is so much wasted space, its no wonder there isn't any room left for extra beds.

J.Bonnici

Feb 9th 2009, 15:26

Headline 2015:
All patients advised to die at home.

V Fenech

Feb 9th 2009, 15:00

Dan bis-serjeta?

Ma jafx li qed jitkellem fuq State of the Art?

Nesa meta l-Labour ħeġġu jżid is-sodod u qagħdu jiddieħku?

Jekk verament qed jifhem li jkun hemm bżonn tal-leave, qed jifhem ukoll (suppost) li dawn il-pazjenti jkollhom bżonn l-attenzjoni xorta!!!! Imbagħad jiġi Gonzi u jgħidlek is-saħħa hija pilastru tal-politika Nazzjonalista...fi-Privat imma hux Sur Prim?

Sandro Pace

Feb 9th 2009, 14:58

A choice should be given for those who want to spend post-op recovery in hospital. They may bring their own beds.

Mario Zammit

Feb 9th 2009, 14:52

This proposal is not even made during wartime. State of the art hospital run by a dilettantesque administration.

What a pity! This government is shooting itself in the foot on every occasion. It just seems it's always trying hard to take unpopular measures. Is this the PN? We have stooped too low now.

Edgar Azzopardi

Feb 9th 2009, 14:50

This government is a joke!! As the Maltese expression says... dahka fil-wicc!!

A Cardona

Feb 9th 2009, 14:42

Is this part of the 2015 vision of a centre of excellence? And... we want foreigners to come here for medical care? As if we do not have enough problems looking after our own, and the thousands of illegals here. Malta 2015 - visions of a centre of illegal immigrants.

Vince Cachia

Feb 9th 2009, 14:09

From what we endured this last month at Mater Dei I wonder why you still find letters in the Times,of thanks to nurses and doctors. Some of them do not deserve any thanks. They are already paid to give a service for which most of us have been paying for forty years! The place is State of the art but the staff is the same!! I suggest a post mortem when a relative dies suddenly!!

Byron Camilleri

Feb 9th 2009, 13:28

Soon they will ask us to do the operation ourselves....

Tony Caruana

Feb 9th 2009, 13:18

I hope that people realise that Dr Gonzi is taking them for a ride just as he did to the Hunters and Trappers.

300 MILLION STATE OF THE ART MY FOOT Dr Gonzi !!!

g.c.Forte

Feb 9th 2009, 13:13

Is there any body responsible and accounted for....on these islands? We are living in a third world country. State of the art......................my ... Ha Ha

Adrian Camilleri

Feb 9th 2009, 12:51

Hilarious indeed.

Lets assume for a minute that the populace actually takes up this inane suggestion by Mr. Cassar. What happens when those relatives actually have jobs ?
Is the state going to reimburse them at full-pay ? How about half-pay ? Should the relatives in question 'take a sickie' ? What if they get caught ? Should they take their leave ? Should they take unpaid leave ? Will the government guarantee their jobs while they are away from work on the suggestion of the Parliamentary Secretary for Health ?

We're in the middle of a global recession. Every penny counts. People are losing their jobs and Mr. Cassar wants people to leave work ? What kind of insanity is this ?

T Mifsud

Feb 9th 2009, 12:45

This is not good management! The planning and projections would have alerted this state of affairs to the ministry and plan for the rehabilitation hospital in time. In Maltese we call this situation "stenbah" meaning "he just realised" that the projections forecasted this situation. What has been done in the meantime.

As for the rehabilitation hospital, I hope it will be state of the art as well with emphasis being put towards wellbeing of patients such as courtsey, medical facilities, patient facilities and visitor facilities.

Rodney Testa

Feb 9th 2009, 12:38

And when you thought it's all over !! :)

This island is really full of original surprises and lately it's becoming like watching a comedy station.

I advise the Politicians and Authorities to truly start to be accountable for what they promised, said, do and also be responsible to others needs.

I am afraid that we living well beyond our means and that the middle class is disappearing and that poverty is on the

T. Grima

Feb 9th 2009, 12:25

Quote: ''Dr Cassar said the government was hoping to tackle the problem through the building of a new rehabilitation hospital where patients would be able to spend their recovery period''

QUESTION: Why build a new hospital when St Lukes Hospital, with its existing infrastructure can be utilised for such purpose? Do we need to repeat the same mistakes of the past when we had Mtarfa and Bighi hospitals there for the taking?

Paul Borg

Feb 9th 2009, 12:23

When I visited Mater Dei Hospital in the final stages of its completion, we were told that much of the inner walls and partitions are made of gypsum boards so that they could be knocked down in the case that more beds were required.
Dear Dr Cassar, could you confirm this and if so what are you waiting to knock down this walls to gain more valuable space in this enormous hospital. Better to knock down a couple of walls than a complete knock-out of the entire health system.

Lorraine Falzon

Feb 9th 2009, 12:11

Maybe Dr. Cassar should first start off with asking Doctors/Professors to sign off & release patients when they are considered well enough to leave the hospital. Patients are normally left waiting a day or two because the Doctor/Professor did not visit to sign off their release from hospital.

Joanne Micallef

Feb 9th 2009, 11:48

We paid through our noses for that hospital and this is the thanks we get for forking out all those excessive millions to get us a new hospital. The only state of the art thing about that hospital is the scam that we tax paying citizens suffered in order to pay for it all.

Miriam Ellul

Feb 9th 2009, 11:46

I worked in a surgical ward and I know perfectly how important is the period after an operation! Besides, you don't need to be a nurse to know this! My daughter was operated for tonsillectomy in 2007, and thanks to the much dedicated ENT staff, and N.O. Sr.Louise Ebejer and to 2 doctors, that she is alive. She hemorrhaged 3 times post op....at home while sleeping! She was discharged the day after the operation, rightly so, as she looked well. But looks can be deceiving and not only in such cases. Every operation, be it a major or minor one has it's own risks!! With me being a nurse, didn't help much, because seeing my daughter swallowing her own blood terrified me...imagine what a relative with no experience at all, will do!!! What if a post op complication comes up......and the relative doesn't drive?Emergencies can happen anytime, I know, not just after operations, but to send a patient home soon after an operation is too much!
Politics apart, I don't think this is fair on us. We collaborated with the set up of the new hospital and we deserve much more!

Philip Sultana

Feb 9th 2009, 11:34

Maltese incompetence has no bounds it appears! A new modern hospital that falls short of needs. And we think we can achieve European standards? Pull out of the EU - it embarrassing to be members ... join the Arab league instead: there's a better fit!

M.Bezzina

Feb 9th 2009, 11:15

So why do we speak about community nursing care then?If we encourage the relatives to take care of their post-op patients?

J.Tonna

Feb 9th 2009, 11:06

This reminds me when I underwent an operation (when still at St. Luke's) and a few days after, the professor who operated on me, told me "You have to go home." Which was clear enough that although I was not fully recovered I had to hand over my bed to someone else. In fact I was still waiting for my transport when my bed was taken by a new patient.

martin portelli

Feb 9th 2009, 10:54

Will the parliamentary secretary DR. Cassar issue relatives with certification for post op care nursing? Has he reached some unknown agreement with sympathetic employers on the issue of time off for post op care of relatives? Has he done the logistics with regards to post op infections and home care by non professionals? Or has he a ready plan on hand for 'hospital at home' type of care ?
Will he face up to cognitive dissonance of the promise to provide the best care with the eagerness to foist responsibility of that care on the already tax burdened family ? What will come next a Statement that only 'certain' conditions will be treated at Mater Dei regardless of the good citizens of Malta footing the bill for gross incompetence and mismanagment and a supposedly state of the art hospital to cater for all!
Why not do a cognitive dissonance excercise with the rest of the Cabinet at Castille at the next cabinet meeting. I am sure your good work on that account would be much appreciated by the 'tired of being taken for a ride ' tax payers of Malta. I solicit prayers towards that excercise. God bless us all!

Pauline Ellul

Feb 9th 2009, 10:42

welcome to our state of the art hospital.
we really need to wake up.

joseph Micallef

Feb 9th 2009, 10:41

state-of-the-art cost so many miillions of Euros and delay and after all that we have to make sacrifices, don't you thing that these things only happen in pajjiz tal mickey mouse

D.MANGION

Feb 9th 2009, 10:34

Way back long long long ago, during the past electoral campaign that was held centuries ago (!) Dr. Alfred Sant had said that in the health sector, too much effort was spent on Mater Dei, whilst the real attention that was needed was in the primary health sector.
He had suggested that the top priority was to strenghten the polyclinics in order to alleviate the pressure from Mater Dei, which might turn out to become a white elephant.

Sic.....crazy man this Dr. Alfred Sant !!!! -----or not ???

J. Darmanin

Feb 9th 2009, 10:17

i really hope he's joking!!

Anthony A. Mifsud

Feb 9th 2009, 10:06

I am perplexed, Who was right , back in 1996 ? Dr. EFA or Dr. Alfred Sant?
Is this the state of the art Hospital?

It well could be but, reading this article from Thousands of KM away it leaves me so astonished to keep hearing Ministers and Parlamentry Sec. calling this white Elephant " A State of the Art "

Mella tajba Sur Kapilan. How could Dr. Cassar come about with such a good Idea! so relatives of patients , became Nurses now? sorry SRN.

Does he realize what a gaff he just said?

Thank you for a quick promotion, to SRN Sn

Tony

Charles Busuttil

Feb 9th 2009, 10:02

@ I. Galea
Perfectly put.

Now we are asked to make further sacrifices and take post op patients to recover at home. Haven't we made enough sacrifices to fork out more than 300 million liri to finance the building of Mater Dei? Didn't these 'experts' foresee this situation when they designed a new hospital with 850 less beds than St Luke's? Is everybody capable of looking after post op patients? SHAME.

lgalea

Feb 9th 2009, 09:41

Who was that IDIOT who projected a SMALLER hospital when the population was BIGGER and GROWING than when St Lukes was constructed?

And now we have the Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joseph Cassar asking relatives to take care of post-operative patients at home!

Can anyone at home provide the same care and supervision that is provided at hospital with professionals?

And all this after the Mater Dejn hospital has cost the people at least Lm300 MILLION.

Why does the Mater Dejn have corridors so wide when more rooms could have been constructed to have more beds?

Why are there so many open spaces that could be utilized for other buildings?

And why not continue to use St Lukes / Karen Grech for other patients that do not require surgery?

Why, why, why?

E. Inglott

Feb 9th 2009, 09:40

"The shortage of beds has worsened since the migration from the old hospital in 2007, as there are now, at 850, fewer beds at the new Mater Dei Hospital."

At St Lukes, patients were already filling the corridors, so why was the new hospital built with even less beds? Boqq.

A. Briffa

Feb 9th 2009, 09:37

state of the art indeed