100 angioplasties postponed

Around 100 angioplasties at Mater Dei Hospital were postponed due to a shortage of stents arising from tendering hiccups, Health Minister Joseph Cassar said in Parliament on Tuesday in reply to a parliamentary question by Anthony Agius Decelis...

Around 100 angioplasties at Mater Dei Hospital were postponed due to a shortage of stents arising from tendering hiccups, Health Minister Joseph Cassar said in Parliament on Tuesday in reply to a parliamentary question by Anthony Agius Decelis (PL).

Minister Cassar explained that the Health Department had issued a call for tenders for 1,600 stents, closing on June 30, 2009, through the Department of Contracts. The tender had not been allocated because of administrative problems in the adjudication process. Besides, after the process had been concluded and the result announced, the tender had been cancelled and subsequently appealed, but the Public Contracts Appeals Board (PCAB) had yet to hear the case.

The Health Department purchased 1,133 stents in 2009 and 403 to date in 2010, and various orders had been made in other calls for tenders. These stents had been kept aside for emergencies and elective interventions.

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