Doctors list 'grave' problems in health sector

T Armatys

Jun 19th 2009, 16:49

@ Savior Cordina: "Doctors are saying that they are being paid peanuts. Do they consider themselves a special class and different from other professions in the civil service?" I don't want to sound arrogant, but how often do people in other professions have to take life-or-death decisions?

A Padovani

Jun 19th 2009, 16:15

@ Savior Cordina It takes no less than twelve to thirteen years to train as a specialist, five years in Medical School, two years as houseman and a further five to six years of intense postgraduate training. Not to mention the high grades required at A Level to get into Medical School in the first place. And even after all this training, you still stand on the middle rung as far as the specialist hierarchy is concerned. This alone puts medical specialists in a class of their own. Surely you can appreciate the skill and expertise required , the burden of responsibility when managing seriously or critically ill patients, the stress involved by the nature of the work and by the sheer weight of numbers, by such specialists as Neurosurgeons, Cardiac Surgeons and Anaesthetists, Cardiologists, Intensive care specialists for neonates and adults,Oncologists, Obstetricians, Radiologists, etc. etc. etc I am sorry to say that some comments on this blog only serve to aggravate what is already a very serious problem. Today no doctors, tomorrow no medical students!

savior cordina

Jun 19th 2009, 15:22

Doctors are saying that they are being paid peanuts. Do they consider themselves a specal class and different from other professions in the civil service?

Reuben Micallef

Jun 19th 2009, 14:30

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.......,you have the nerve to call others arrogant.......maybe you should learn to make your point without calling whoever does not agree with you arrogant.
@C Borg
"So until the situation is straightened out by the Maltese government we will bank on our strengths, work and study hard and serve other countries where we are equally needed but better appreciated and renumerated".I would be the first to agree that the government should improve conditions ,pay and opportunities for young doctors,and dont regret paying taxes for that,the point is there is nothing wrong from the state/citizens to expect something back,afterall education is an investment.Hope this is not mistaken for arrogance and ungratefullness.There are two sides of the coin and while we may not agree on all issues we surely agree that the ball is in govt hands

N Borg

Jun 18th 2009, 22:24

@ laurence schembri

newly graduated doctors in UK work up to maximum of 46 hrs, and they get 3 times as much as they would earn here working 60 hours per week.

Keep entertaining us wenz!

N Borg

Jun 18th 2009, 21:59

@ ReubenMicallef
Again.......
MORE SOUR GRAPES!!!!
and you missed the point. Ferrari compared to a doctor, stue!!
Go and make vinegar

@ laurence schembri
hallina wenz. good manners!!!! I can sell you some of that. Your arrogance reflects your jealousy.

But again......
keep coming with these comments. Entertain us!

Anne Marie Bonello

Jun 18th 2009, 16:57

@ laurence schembri

'Doctoers are made to work in N.H. hospitals for less money than in Malta and longer hours, if I`m not mistaken for a period of two years' ????

What world do u live in!!! In the Uk the pay is TRIPLE what one would get here! Eeveryone knows it! I know doctors who were given platinum cards in their first year as junior doctors. Those 2 years are the same done in Malta. Not to mention working hours being much better in the UK. And dcotors actually having days off as opposed to working day after day regardless of it being new years, christmas, or a wedding anniversary!

Seriously get your facts straight before speaking.

@ everybody who keeps saying doctors should be forced to work in Malta...try get into the medical carreer yourselves then tell me if u remain with the same idea. If u think being in the course is an easy ride think again..

The Maltese tend to think the government owe's them everything and doctors have no right to being happy but have to be their slaves, to then be treated ungratefully.

Melissa Bagley

Jun 18th 2009, 11:12

Dear C Borg, it's people like those that gets one thinking - if they think it is so cushy, frilly or whatever, they should have got into medicine in the first place instead of whining and whinging. I'll bet they would change their tune PRONTO once they become doctors themselves.

Silvan Azzopardi

Jun 18th 2009, 02:26

Several comments to this article express resentment against those newly qualified doctors who leave the island without working in the health department for a specified number of years.

It appears that the general public is under the impression that local pathways exist for these doctors to acquire the necessary expertise locally that will ultmately render them competent to serve the public and reduce knee replacement operating lists; work as GP's and shoulder responsibilties as senior clinicans.

Such mechanisms exsist in a limited number of specialties . Anesthesia is virtually the sole local Gold Standard. In almost all of the remaining specialities doctors require overseas training.

I am not making reference to terms as ' careeer' 'opportunities' 'renumeration' These are valid terms but they seem to obscure the crux of the matter:

This is:

A junior doctor is very limited in the level of care he or she can deliver to the public and imposing restrictions to remain on the island sabotagges his/ her opportunity of gaining access to competitive overseas training positions.

It is the sytem which is failing the public not those doctors trying to work in this system.

C Borg

Jun 18th 2009, 02:23

@ Charmaine Mangion and all those whining about doctors getting "triple of what I get in a month"

Pure jealousy! No one wonder we all leave and never come back. Why should we come back when all that the Maltese public wants is for doctors to serve them for peanuts?
How would you like to go to work at 8am and leave the next day at 3pm Ms. Mangion? and do this 3 times a week without any days off?

However the public's attitude or long working hours are not the main reason why doctors leave. Doctors are bothered mostly by a lack of protected paid teaching time, lack of research facilites, poor prospects with regards to career progression.
Each and every Maltese medical graduate has a right to aspire to become a fully trained specialist - we don't become doctors only to remain public service employees stuck at the same measly grade for 20 years. That's unheard of anywhere in the developed world.

So until the situation is straightened out by the Maltese government we will bank on our strengths, work and study hard and serve other countries where we are equally needed but better appreciated and renumerated.

G Borg

Jun 18th 2009, 00:00

As a medical doctor who has worked in the public sector, i have found that the only way I could further my carreer, interest in research, and at least have a decent life, with the chance of bringing up a family was to go abroad.

I worked in the public sector but the system, lack of opportunities, lack of interest, hidden agendas, problems with the management (they don't care less), abuse and working conditions made me realise I had no choice.

Of course I wanted to stay in Malta with family and friends, but the only way I could further my career, and getting involved in proper research etc, was to go abroad, simply because in Malta there are no opportunities, and no time because one is doing a service post working about 100 hrs/week. Nobody gives cares about european working time directives or anything similar.

Those doctors/nurses working in the public sector (most of them) are overstretched and do a marvelous job for the amount of problems they are faced with everyday.

Reuben Micallef

Jun 17th 2009, 22:28

@ N Borg
re Ferrari comment- comparing education(right of everyone) to a ferrari (a privilege )can only match maybe in terms of the training expense ......which I WOULD gladly pay if the state gets something in return for it....does that make us ungratefull to doctors ?
"Start to respect the dignity of doctors who sooner or later will have to save your life when you're in need" NOT IF THEY ARE ABROAD.As re applying the same principle to other professions that would result in an inflated public sector more than it probably is already and as far as I know the brain drain effect is mostly felt in the medical sector.
re Sour Grapes comment-yes of course we are all jealous because ALL of us wanted to become doctors and dint make it........get a reality check mate
@ A Borg
"you work 100 hour weeks for a relatively meagre pay ( a fifth of what others percieve abroad)"
"you are burdened by taxes".
"you have few opportunities to further your studies in theisland itslef"
All of the above are encountered in all levels of jobs and professions.

M Formosa

Jun 17th 2009, 19:34

We live in Canada. By the time someone finishes medical school, he or she are in debt to the government well over $100000, no stipends here. After that once they have their own practice, they are more or less dictated by the provence on a lot of issues even when to take a vacation or some days off. My daughter started studying medicine here in Toronto but is continuing her studies in a medical school in Italy where she is given a stipend, not a student loan which will put her in debt for many years to come. From what I can read being a doctor in Malta is not so bad.

Adriana Crocker

Jun 17th 2009, 18:58

@Andrew Camilleri - You should be ashamed at how you depreciate your own country. You may the best of medical students but you surely need to start weighing your words. In addition you seem to completely miss the point about the doctor's telos and you're obsessed with building your enviable CV.
Calling your own country a rock with no opportunities is deplorable. I am aware that King's College or the Sloan Kettering may be more appealing for an ambitious doctor but I believe that healthcare in Malta is excellent and, if people don't just turn away and don't want to have anything to do with 'this mess', like you intend to do, it can be made to reach the highest standards, especially in specialised fields.
Of course you should have total freedom of going wherever you want (and given your attitude I urge you to go where you think your higher skills and dexterity merit to be witnessed in awe) but if in an emergency situation of doctor shortage the government asked doctors to show appreciation for their education and stay (maybe at higher payment) it wouldn't be obscene at all.

laurence schembri

Jun 17th 2009, 18:33

@ Andrew Camilleri
In the UK where most of our Doctors end up, students pay for their uni education. when graduated Doctoers are made to work in N.H. hospitals for less money than in Malta and longer hours, if I`m not mistaken for a period of two years.
@ N. Borg. The first thing you want to learn to become a good Doctor is good manners, which I`m afraid you lack. Greed conquers everything.

N Borg

Jun 17th 2009, 17:09

MORE SOUR GRAPES!

Keep going with your jealous comments. Entertain us!

We love these comments, they just spring to mind when we are considering to go out of our way to help some unappreciative compatriot.

No where in the world does such a hostility towards doctors does exist. And doctors in Malta are grossly underpaid.

I love this country but if anybody thinks that anyone could ever make any doctor stay here because somebody pays 300E tax a month, I would bend in two with laughter.

NO ONE CAN EVER BIND ANY BODY WITH SUCH THING. There is something called freedom of movement and equality. When they do it to all professions then it might be remotely possible.

Doctors are too strong for such things to happen. Alla hares we remain stuck here without any exposure to foreign countries for experience, better salary etc.

Again, to all those who have sour grapes, keep entertaining us and reminding us what ungrateful bunch you lot are.

Galea R.

Jun 17th 2009, 16:41

Why is it that surgeons operate their patients in no time when being paid for in private hospitals and on the other hand same patients are being told by the same surgeons to wait their turn when in public hospital?
What about doctors on duty in health centres? I can speak for my self. I had recently been to the Victoria centre. A doctor was in attendance, doing anything but seeing to the patients needs. The only patient he sought to serve best was his mobile which was in use all the time calling and answering I don't know who. Patients were served at very long intervals. I had to wait for about two hours to get my turn having had only three others before me in the queue.

A Borg

Jun 17th 2009, 16:32

once more,
personally i'll fully oblige to work in malta for a reasonable amount of years, should this apply for all courses.
about tax payers, yes it's obvious that we are all obliged to the contribuents. but it's unfair to believe that only the medical school is recieving the benefits. if you should visit the premises you'd realise. ICT labs wort over 40 million are being built (and no they presumably won't be open toall) at the moment. nobody seems to want computer technicians at their doorstep everytime they see a blue screen.

as for other courses mr/ms Cardona i'm not saying that they are of no worth or less important, by far. but yes i'm adamnt that this is the toughest course by FAR where tudies can exceed well past 12 years and really and truly never cease. yet in malta CURRENTLY THERE ARE ALMOST NO PROSPECTS because having such a relatively small hospital means that there are less top jobs available.

everybody wants a promotion and a better paycheck, and nobody is to blame for that. you don't expect a mecchanic to give you a free service for the love of cars!

J. Debono

Jun 17th 2009, 16:19

EVERYONE has FREE Education, not only Doctors.

Why is it that everyone thinks that he is paying for a doctor's education!!! A medical degree is one of the hardest to abtain, and we only obtain it by our own merits, not anybody's else. I got my first meagre pay at 24 years of age.

We are getting free education like everybody else, and we want to be treated like anybody else, that is, after finishing education, we should look for a good job with a satisfactory pay, normal hours, good career progression and where we have the patient's respect.

Unfortunately this is not available in Malta, therefore the reason why most doctors are going abroad.

J. Cardona

Jun 17th 2009, 16:04

@ A Borg

Please respect other courses, they are just as hard, if not harder than medicine. Remember eventhough you may be a doctor you still have to work with other professionals who have had just as hard time to make it in their respective degree as you.

Joseph E Briffa

Jun 17th 2009, 13:52

@R Farrugia ,,,,God forbid that the state keeps tabs on what we do with our earned income. Whether one uses one's income to support a family of two, three, four or six, or spends most of his income on travelling or buying luxury goods is immaterial. It's his money and he is perfectly entitled to do with it whatever he likes. In case of a bonus pater familias he should take out health insurance and life assurance ,and house insurance including house contents to pass on the risks to the insurers. Health insurance premiums should be tax free in my opinion.

charmaine mangion

Jun 17th 2009, 13:52

Mr Camilleri, you want the cake with all the frilly icing. You want frre education (taken from my taxes), freedom where to work to get triple what i get in a month!!

you dont want to be bounded with a contract, study somewhere else and pay your studies.

Andrew Camilleri

Jun 17th 2009, 13:48

@Saviour Cordina: The best service possible, obviously. Every patient should be treated in the best manner possible. I think that was a misplaced comment which you should retract.

If doctors are overstretched, underpaid and there are no opporutunities for career advancement, what do you expect? I'm not studying to remain stuck here with no prospects when I can go abroad, get paid and have my work appreciated, unlike here in Malta. Nobody appreciates doctors or other health care staff because of this sham of a healthcare system we have. As I said, no one grumbles about people from other courses going abroad, so why us? No one has the right to tell me what to do with my life - if I cannot go abroad, then what kind of freedom can we say there is in this country?

Joseph E Briffa

Jun 17th 2009, 13:39

@Andrew Camilleri...if you are unhappy with the opportunities for advancement in Malta nobody is keeping you from starting a new life somewhere else in the English speaking world. This is a free country in the EU and you can work in the 27 states if you know the languages.

Reuben Micallef

Jun 17th 2009, 13:27

Since education is provided free by the state yes the state should reserve the right to bind students whether its in the medical profession or any other course.......after all the stipend system was not reformed because it is deemed an investment....an investment with no return in cases where graduates leave the country.
@Andrew Camilleri
You should consider yourselves lucky to be able to study on this "rock with no opportunities'
maybe if you wanted to pursue a career as a pilot ...you would have known that the course is not paid for and unless you get a sponsorship you would have to foot the bill ,let alone get free tuition and get a stipend.
@ R Ferriggi
Yes probably you are right pensions may not be sustainable irrespective of goverments but a good fraction of them would be covered if govt projects didnt overun by millions /dates.Ask any serious businessman about forecasts on projects,they may overrun but not with the same amounts govt projects do.
@ I Morrison
I guess the bulk of your comment was correct but applying the same principle with every course,without prejudice,would result in having overstaffing in the public sector.

Anne Marie Bonello

Jun 17th 2009, 13:23

If u read your news paper properly you would have read than the Foundation Program will be starting in Malta. This program was organised by consultants and doctors, and is equivalent to the UK program. This results in having the option of working here for 2 years and then being equally accepted as the brits for a specialisation in the UK. It also works vice versa. Many new doctors were leaving due to the decreased chance of getting a specialisation abroad if u did the 2 yrs here compared to abroad. This program has hence been an incentive for the majority of students graduating this year to stay.

Please note that going abroad is not being selfish, but its gaining on experience. EVERY CONSULTANT WENT ABROAD AT A POINT IN TIME.

Also note that doctors staying in Malta doesn't mean having enough doctors NOW but in the future, because one needs experience to for example work in a health centre alone, or treat an emergency case accurately! Its not a joke having a persons life as your responsibility.

F J Brincat

Jun 17th 2009, 13:18

Andrew Camilleri: Twice you failed to respond to comments about the education that you have been receiving for “a long time” (your words) which is, practically free of charge and paid for by the rest of the tax-paying population.

So you want to receive free education and then you want to go and work abroad for your OWN personal gain.

Taf xiex siehbi, ghandek verament ragun!

Tispicca l-edukazzjoni terzjarja b’xejn ghall KULLHADD.

B’xjen ghall minn verament jisthoqlu w verament fil-bzonn. Il-bqija jmorru jiddejnu ma bank bhall ma naghmlu ahna meta jkollna bzonn xi haga, jew nkella “soft loan” ma’ l-universita nnifisha, ghax ma jistax jkun li nibqghu nhallsu ahna ghall edukazzjoni ta’kullhadd.

Xejn aktar skuzi. Jahdmu part-time f’ghalqa jigbru t-tadam jekk hemm bzonn, biex ihallsu djunhom.

Mbaghad, jistghu jsiefru kemm iridu.

mbusuttil

Jun 17th 2009, 12:51

@Andrew Camilleri
If you dont want to work for your country its your business but people like you should finance their own studies and disappear from this 'rock' asap! I fork out appr. E300 a month for people like you to study and get paid for doing so!! Just received the good news: my knee(which I torn my cruxiate ligaments 2 years ago) will be operated in three (3) years' time!! I dont think I am bieng selfish ...

K Tanti

Jun 17th 2009, 12:26

@ Andrew Camilleri
When I was a nursing student , we were given a stipend more than other university students.
However, we were obliged with a contract to work for 3 years in the public sector. If someone decides to work in the private sector ( before that 3 years) had to pay a maximum of Lm 10,000. Government can do the same with doctors. Offer them a good stipend, and bound with contract. It is up to the medical student to accept the contract or not

N Borg

Jun 17th 2009, 12:25

to all who expect doctors to stay here just because their taxes are paying the course i say this.

imagine you are paying 50 euros fuel to throw into my ferrari. Can you claim that ferrari is yours? no bloody way!!!!! if you're not happy to keep putting fuel then stop doing it, but that applies to all university courses, even the one your grandchild is following!!!

Start to respect the dignity of doctors who sooner or later will have to save your life when you're in need.

A Borg

Jun 17th 2009, 12:22

to all those attacking A. Camilleri who evidently have no clue of what the medical course is about:

you work at full strain for five years to get a basic degree in medicine. it IS the hardest course in university and i believe that almnost everybody would agree.
you work 100 hour weeks for a relatively meagre pay ( a fifth of what others percieve abroad)
you are burdened by taxes.
you have few opportunities to further your studies in theisland itslef
you have almost no chances of improving your rank within the hospital.

and you want us to be relegated here?
if it will be mandatory that ALL university students repay their country by working with the government for a couple of years then so be it, but if not it would be discrimination.

as regards the unsustainable free health care:

why do politicians ride to parliament in expensive cars?
why do we have to waste money embelishing certain areas with million when they could do with a simple cleanup?
why spend millions for an architect to rebuild a theatre in a style not approved by many?
etc, etc.

saviour cordina

Jun 17th 2009, 12:02

Andrew Camiller@ If you describe Malta as a rock with no opportunities I can immagine what kind of service Doctors like you are going to give to this counrty.

Ian Morris

Jun 17th 2009, 12:01

University education is not free in other countries. There should be a choice: Pay the full fees, with no strings attached, or, free university education and five years practicing in Malta after graduation; this should apply to all without prejudice.

Chris Farrugia

Jun 17th 2009, 11:54

To all those expecting doctors to work in Malta for a couple of years, they have no idea what they are talking about. We all pay taxes and we pay for the education of each unviersity graduate. Is there any other graduate bound to compulsary work in Malta? NO, so why create an anomaly with doctors. The remaining doctors in malta are doing charity work at best. It is unconceivable to keep on work in the present conditions.

r ferriggi

Jun 17th 2009, 11:50

i REPEAT that nothing under the sun is FOR FREE.

so,,,,, promising free this and free that was ALWAYS a mistake. this is not PL or PN but the PL started it and the PN endorsed.

Yes, we all are paying heftily for it through taxes. the past is the past. BUT IT STILL IS NOT WORKING.

the system needs A COMPLETE OVERHAUL. otherwise it will collapse.

hear my words '' THE SAME APPLIES TO THE PENSIONS AS WE KNOW THEM''.

U.N.S.U.S.T.A.I.N.A.B.L.E. (( whether there is PN or PL!!!!!)

Galea. L

Jun 17th 2009, 11:43

Andrew Camilleri
What's wrong with binding all those attending University and receiving a stipend and they should receive one to help them in their studies give service by being employed for a time with the Government with the option of either remaining if they are found to be good or allowing them to leave?

Stephen Farrugia Of course its Mater Dejn because it cost so many times the original estimates. Mhux wiehed, mhux tnejn... mhux hamsa imma iktar min hekk Farrugia. Did you see anything in my post against the doctors? In fact I always held that all workers including professionals should be paid a fair wage/salary. The government increased taxation through VAT by 20% not 5%. As for the public putting a cork in their mouth the public has a right to espress frustration, but I certainly do not agree with blaming or worse using violence on the doctors. On the other hand it is not the first time that a doctor is present but keeps the people waiting for nothing. Respect is a two way process.

Lastly, to be a state of the art hospital it needs a state of the art staff.

Andrew Camilleri

Jun 17th 2009, 11:24

@Laurence: I don't think it's selfish at all. It's our life, and we have every right to decide where we work. No one ever asks people from other courses to do the same thing. Would you force a lawyer or an architect to work in Malta 'bil-fors'? Every single worker in this country can work wherever they want. Why should a new medical graduate be treated differently?

Sorry, after studying for a long time, I don't want to waste my life here, where there are absolutely no opportunities, bad pay, overwork and no chances of career progression. I'm not saying I won't work here for a while, but being forced to work here is beyond silly.

laurence schembri

Jun 17th 2009, 11:16

@ Andrew Camilleri
Pardon my intrusion, but, who is being selfish? You get free education plus your grants paid for by the taxpayer, the least you can do is to give something back, even if it is for two years.
I don`t think this is asking too much. It should be made compulsory by government.

Anthony Schembri Adami

Jun 17th 2009, 11:15

All decent persons should repay in some way or the other the Nation for the free education they had once received once

Aimee Fenech

Jun 17th 2009, 10:59

I think these so called social cases should be put somewhere else, overnight stays should only be for those who really need them.

D. Abdilla

Jun 17th 2009, 10:52

Hypocrisy at it's best.

First a bottom-less page is made in the Article regarding the 'Health will not be Free' which was in both GE and EPE by the PL to attack PN.

Now as we face facts that Health really needs to be sustained by fees so for Doctors/Quality keeping, as the MAM is clearly stating above, Everybody starts blaming the Government for not providing these services.

R. Bugeja

Jun 17th 2009, 10:51

@ Briffa - Even though your proposal makes sense, there are several flaws. For example. A father of four has an income of 28,000euros yearly. Does the family really keep the 28000? No. The 28,000euros is mostly used for keeping the family alive, buying food, paying bills, paying taxes, paying cars registration etc. So I do not agree fully with your proposal.

A more viable proposal, in my opinion, is determining the am mount of money spent on luxury. A hard worker who earns 28,000euro + may spend all of them on his family, maintaining his house etc. Wereas someone who does not have a family may make 10,000euro and spend 60% of that on luxuries like travelling, cars, electronics etc.

A Borg

Jun 17th 2009, 10:47

shame on whoever believes healthcare should not be part of the welfare system. just to show the lack of social conscience present in this country. we don't realise there are people that struggle just to make ends meet on a daily basis, let alone the burden of healthcare added to that.

and pls mr ferrigi, you should bow your head when speaking about mintoff. he did have his mishaps, and loads of them, but he shaped this country and made stand alone on its feet. avidently you've never had the burden of a damily member having to be hospitalized abroad for a long period, with the accumulation of hefty fees. i've seen a manager become a beggar literally. i don't see why after all the contribution i pay my country throughout my life, then my nation shouldn't be there to support those in need. it's simply plain cheek and an easy way out.

Brenda Bonnici

Jun 17th 2009, 10:44

@ Savior Cordina
I'm sure that what you actually mean is that Government should incentivise doctors with conditions as good or better than they would get in other EU countries and then bind them for 5 years after they graduate.

Reuben Micallef

Jun 17th 2009, 10:42

After the state invests so much money in the education and training of doctors etc etc, shouldnt the govt bind them to give service in clinics or at Mater Dei,like any company would do after investing in its employees.Maybe then the general conditions could be improved and staff are not made to work such long exhaustive hours.To my knowledge doctors are bound for a period of 2 years service ,is this enough vis a vis the cost for the state?

May I take this opportunity to publicly thank all doctors nurses and staff in the public sector that despite having to deal with the stress some of which mentioned above still go out of their way to give the best treatment possible.The "state of the art hospital" is manned by "state of the art "professionals that have obsolete conditions.

Patient rights : We dont fare really well in this category,why doesnt the patient have the right to view his own medical records? What is being done to improve the situation?

R.Degiorgio

Jun 17th 2009, 10:42

Just a little reminder that we already paying taxes so that the doctors and everyone else can get a FREE education!!! And these bloggers here pretend that we pay AGAIN if we need to use the hospital?? So if that is the case, then maybe everyone should pay for their studies too??? What you bloggers think??
What the gov should do first is to keep the doctors in Malta once they graduated for LONGER time. So by the time doctors go work abroad, another group of doctors have graduated. Also what the gov should have did was invest in MORE beds in the new hospital, and not having LESS beds than we had in the old hospital. Now I know why Mater Dei got those big long corridors...so they can put the beds there too since there is not enough room in the bed-rooms!!! Its crazy that there is not enough beds in the 'State of the Art'!!!

Stephen Farrugia

Jun 17th 2009, 10:39

L.Galea

Stop calling it Mater DEJN ... its Mater Dei!! Jeez man, read a book. Doctors in malta are becoming a rarity, since we joined the EU they can come and go whenever they want, which is a burden since they are underpaid in malta. Now if the government doesn't do anything, we're gonna loose them since now they're all up in their own skies. doctors shouldnt be forced to work in malta or else, after 5 years they'll leave, having no veteran docs around

So, the government, needs to do an agreement with the board of doctors, and find a solution to increase their pay., thus attracting doctors from abroad due to the good pay, as well as having a better state of the art hospital.

of course increasing their wages will be free since the government already increased taxation by 5%, and they should do the roads too

Last but not least, The general public really needs to put a cork in their mouth, cuz Its really offensive seeing a doctor who studied so much being treated like a piece of trash at the polyclinic... just because cikku l poplu is sick of being in a queue.

paul micallef

Jun 17th 2009, 10:30

Haqqu dan il-gvern, why when the PN came in power, they abolished the 50c charge, on all medical certificates that where issued for taking free medicines, and they attacked the decision that what taken buy the Labour goverment of that time??? HAQQEK!!!!!
Now the people want everything for free GONZI, now if you put a charge on anything that is related to a fee, on the health care, you will never find the backing of the LABOUR.
Find the money as you have promised a lot things, if you are not capable to govern please call an election.
Or they are more presents for us?? light bulbs?? i remember that when there wasen't any water, the people of Sliema use to bang sauce pans together, now as wer do not have any electric we can bang the LIGHT BULBS.

joanna farrugia

Jun 17th 2009, 10:29

since this suggestion is made by pn should be blessed right?i would wonder what all pn blogers would had said if all this was made by pl and second why i shall pay more?the doctors get paid double already cos 1st you visit them privatley done at the hospital.more money for the richer!!!!

Andrew Camilleri

Jun 17th 2009, 10:26

@Saviour Cordina: Would you bind graduates from other courses to work in Malta? That's extremely selfish. I have no intention of wasting five years of studying like crazy to remain stuck on this rock on which there are absolutely no opportunities. No one has any right to tell me or other medical students where to work and for how long. It's our life and we decide where we work.

Galea. L

Jun 17th 2009, 10:15

r ferriggi
Why should we pay more than we are already paying for health services?
Have you forgotten the Gonzi has increased VAT by 20% to make good for the new Mater Dejn and health services?
All the PN apologists want is to make health services available against payment as was the case under previous PN governments before Mintoff God bless him made them free.

May D Vella
Didn't the government say that no such cases will be allowed at Mater dejn? If there are such cases, why are they not sent home?
If they cannot be sent home as they need attention, why doesn't the government build retirement homes in all localities so that the people will remain in their locality?
If you don't know, pensioners who stay for hospital treatment have their pensions reduced as if they are staying at a retirement home.

I see that now you and others are suggesting that a small fee be paid for free medicines. SO why was all hell raised by the PN when Dr Sant had implemented such a proposal?
For hypocrats it is ok if made by the PN but anathema if made by the PL.

savior cordina

Jun 17th 2009, 10:07

Govt should bind new doctors to serve in Malta for at least 5 years after investing so much for their education.

Joseph E Briffa

Jun 17th 2009, 10:05

Furthermore health insurance premiums should be exempt from IT. This would encourege more people to take out health insurance thereby relieving the public coffers from a substantial expense; it should also result in the creation of more jobs in the Insurance sector as well as a reduction in the existing premium rates as there will be more contributions making them more attractive to the insuring public

Joseph E Briffa

Jun 17th 2009, 10:01

@ Ferriggi I agree 100%....Mintoff invented this "free' health services because it went down well with the majority of people who had a very low income and it was moreover the fashion. Sweden who was run by Socialists for decades had to revise this system which was unsustainable. Now that the financial status of the majority of the |Maltese has gone up substantially since the 1970s, it's about time that we reform the system. If the family income is below the average wage of Eur14 000 p.a. - then one qualifies for 'free' health services. A family with an income between Eur14 000 and Eur21 000 p.a.will qualify for a 50% rebate on the bills. Families with an annual income exceeding Eur 21 000 but less than Eur28 000 qualifiy for a 25% rebate. Families with an anuual income exceeding Eur28 000 will have to foot the entire bill. This should be accompanied by a IT reduction to not more than 15% on income not exceeding Eur28 000. Incomes in excess of Eur28 000 should be taxed to the tune of 25% up to a maximum of Eur49 000, while the 35% rate is retained for incomes exceeding this amount.

Danika Vella

Jun 17th 2009, 09:45

I think with the number of social cases at the hospital, a small fee per person per day will suffice to encourage relatives to take care of these patients instead of staying at the hospital. I have met with many patients at MDH who say, shamelessly, that they prefer to stay at the hospital instead of at home: there's free food, people with whom to talk, nice environment, etc... what they don't realize though is that they are occupying expensive beds which should be given to more needy people; besides the fact that they are contributing to the doctors' and nurses' already overwhelmed schedule.

Regards free medications, there is room for improvement too. It would not hurt many's pockets if a small fee (say, 1 Euro) is paid with the free medications that the patients take from the hospital. There is the 'Pharmacy of your choice where those with chronic conditions and the needy can take their free medication. However, when something is free, it is less appreciated. Many people who take the free medicines don't bother to take them. Resources should be better managed.

R. Bugeja

Jun 17th 2009, 09:26

@Mary Mallia - What's worth having a state of the art hospital when you can't get enough staff for it?

That's where the government went wrong. Investing in the hospital, without even thinking about the staff, which is quite small and doctors are overworked by far.

mario gellel

Jun 17th 2009, 09:19

LACK OF MEDICAL STAFF
LACK OF MEDICINE
LACK OF BEDS
ONE WONDERS WHY IT WAS CALLED THE STATE OF THE ART HOSPITAL.
AND ONE WONDERS IF THERE IS A HIDDEN AGENDA SO FREE HEALTH SERVICE WILL BE ABOLISHED.---WHO KNOWS?

r ferriggi

Jun 17th 2009, 08:55

i repeat as in other comments that FREE EDUCATION AND FREE HEALTH etc etc is a UTOPIA.

better make it ''low cost'' and free for really needy.

the unfortunate thing is that this ''dream'' has been started by Mintof and the PN did not have the guts ( as it should have) to make a deep reform.

Mary Mallia

Jun 17th 2009, 08:34

We've been told more than once that we have the best health service in the EU - or is it the world? Surely MAM have got it all wrong.

JOSEPH E BRIFFA

Jun 17th 2009, 08:31

May i know why the Health Authorities seem to be dragging their feet? We have to take care of our excellent doctors and make their life as pleasant as possible...otherwise we are bound to lose their services as they will settle in other EU states where the medical profession is more appreciated. Health Authorities wake upo and do something before it is too late.