Update 3: Hospital bed shortage - new ward planned

Pia Attard

Feb 25th, 23:38

yes, the same people who built a brand new hospital with the same number of beds as the old one.

A Tonna

Feb 26th, 10:16

@ Pia Attard

Maybe 200 beds less than the old one! Dawn x'hasbu ??

Joe Fenech

Feb 26th, 07:23

And state of the art hospital !

Joseph Grech Attard

Feb 25th, 20:51

Dear Mr. Williams - Divide to rule is the motto. The state of the art hospital is only true when it comes to building. When it comes to management, nothing has changed. Il-huta minn rasha tinten. I feel sorry for the present minister of Health who inherited such a mess, whilst the persons who have advised the Government, remain behind the scenes!! Another HUGE failure (Arriva, Air Malta, Sea Malta, Erasmus, etc, and soon City Gate Project) of the present administration. How far is it able to go? When shall our spring start??

Joseph E Briffa

Feb 25th, 18:35

Vincent Williams - sorry I am not using caps; Don't you realise that your comments are simply pathetic?. You go on like a robot programmed to denigrate PN. You write comments on anything under the sun and your comments are always negative, no wonder you call PN GonziPartitNegattiv. Why don't you join the party?

VINCENT WILLIAMS

Feb 25th, 21:13

Dear Mr Joseph Briffa.

Thank you so much for not denying or even contradicting that a great number of Mater Dei patients and their families are suffering because of the many wrong decisions that PN Governments took in the past!!!!!!!!

For not denying or even contradicting that the blame is on GonziPN and that the situation regarding patients in the corridors is another failure from the PN Government.

And as you did not contradict my request regarding a 'no confidence vote' by Dr Franco Debono to end the present dangerous situation in Mater Dei. I also thank you for that.

By the way, if my comments are simply pathetic than it should have been very easy for you to contradict. But in your deep heart you know, as many ex-PN supporters know that my comments are the truth.

The great number of Nationalists supporters that are leaving the PN clearly shows the situation that GonziPartitNegattiv is in!!!!!!!!

Mr Joe Micallef

Feb 25th, 23:31

Williams. One thing is certain! You do not have the faintest idea of the value of shame! Good thing you vote PL.

R. Cilia

Feb 25th, 17:53

What you suggested is not possible since we are in the EU G.Agius

Adrian P. Cassar

Feb 25th, 19:24

First of all the govenment doesn't force teacher, lawyers or architects to work for him. Secondly, ther is no problem with doctors leaving, since this was well solved with the foundation programme and local specialist training. And thirdly, people who leave do so for their training and the great majority want to come back....the problem is that if they are consultants in the UK, they don't want to come to Malta at a lower rank.

Maria Caruana

Feb 25th, 17:21

Sur Rizzo, da zgur li t-tobba jaghmlu l-hin kollu tax-xoghol taghhom fl-isptar! Mela min qed jaghmilha d-dijanjozi tal-pazjenti li jidhlu l-isptar? In nurses? Min qed jaghmilhom l-operazzjonijiet? In-nurses? Min qed ikompli jsegwi s-sahha tal-pazjent kemm idum l-isptar? Dan ix-xoghol mhux kollu t-tobba jaghmluh? Paroli bla bazi, hafna hsara jista' jaghmel u mhux gid. Filwaqt li napprezzaw li n-nurses jaghmlu xoghol siewi hafna, wiehed m'ghandux jaqbez ghall-konkluzjonijiet li m'humiex minnhom

Adrian P. Cassar

Feb 25th, 19:36

First of all, most consultants work till 2pm....so that leaves them ample time to do private work.
If you know anyone working privately while he should be at Mater Dei.....please do everyone a big favour and REPORT him!!!
Yes you are correct consultants don't work on Sundays....unlike other European countries....where they don't work on SATURDAY and SUNDAY. So we have 6 discharge days as opposed to 5 days elsewhere!!! Are you suggesting that consultants should not have a day off a week? Other grades have the authority to discharge...but don't because only a skeleton staff is present on Sundays

Mr R.E. Saliba

Feb 26th, 12:18

Lol Adrian P. Cassar, joke of the year.

Report a consultant????
That'll make you a favourite, the next time you need him/her.
Did you know for instance that a consultant has COMPLETE prerogative on who to operate and when?

Malta is not a medical utopia dear.

R. Cilia

Feb 25th, 17:59

Go t o MDH and see for yourself JE Briffa..Remove your blue blinkers before you enter MDH or you might get an eyesore.

T Cassar

Feb 25th, 18:40

Let us put aside what everyone is saying and ask you sir 'Have you been to the Energency Department in the last 3 months? If your comment is not meant to mislead, perhaps you would care to visit in the next week and in a gentlemanly manner write in again?'

Perhaps the methods used my most of the parties leave much to be desired, but saying that there is no need for action is an odious stance and reminiscent of an ostrich putting hits head to the ground. Of course the curse of everyone seeing things through blue or red coloured glasses prevails. The fact that we insist that a problem is equal to failure and the only thing we do about it is dish out blame does not help. I repeat, see for yourself and THEN comment whether there is need for imporvement!

Adrian P. Cassar

Feb 25th, 19:41

Nahseb li ma fhimt xejn Joseph....there is no problem for patients in the wards. The problem is for patients NOT in a ward. Patients crammed on stretchers in the corridor of casualty waiting for days for a bed in the ward.

Please do yourself a favour and head to mater dei....go to the casualty department and have a look at the poor patients on stretchers waiting for a bed. Then come back and tell us how blissfuly happy they look!

Mr Albert Borg

Feb 25th, 14:06

please note that the crisis doesn't resolve itself on mondays when patients are discharged (not that large masses are discharged at one go).

However i'd like to point out that first and foremost - everybody works and everybody has a right to rest. This applies to both nurses, junior doctors, health care professionals AND consultants. Why in your opinion they should forego this right is beyond me. If anything the issue here is why does the consultant need to be present for a discharge and an improvement of the current system used should be sought.

Also this idea that patients are being thrown at will into corridors and ridiculed is not the case. Yes, it is not an easy and far from the ideal environment, however all professionals alike work round the clock (except when on leave :P ) to give them the best care this hospital can afford.

Once more i repeat - instead of pointing fingers its high time people sat down and analysed what is really wrong and try and come up with PROPER, LASTING solutions, and not just band-aid fixes.

Joey Tribbiani

Feb 25th, 15:18

Work on Sundays?? Remember John Dalli's famous assertion of MDH - a part time hospital. Go and collect the list of serving consultants from St james hospital and you will notice that the absolute majority of govt hospital consultant/specialists serve also at this private hospital/s during the afternoons. Some even perform surgery in the mornings over there.

Adrian P. Cassar

Feb 25th, 19:51

Mela Mr Zammit Lapira, can you please tell me what profession you have?
Are you a teacher? If children have a problem with their maths why don't you go to school on sunday, surely you don't take Sundays off knowing that the kids can learn more on that day?
Maybe you're a lawyer....with this slow justice system, the court should open on Sunday
Maybe you are a cashier at a supermarket....surely your employer would earn more if customers can shop on Sunday.
Well....maybe you're a street sweeper....how dare you let our streets dirty on Sundays!!!
What is your proposal Jonathan? How many days a week do you work..6? I hope that you don't have a 5 day week and then have the gall to ask doctors to work 7 days a week?
I eagerly await your ANSWER PLEASE!!!!!!!!

Mr Albert Borg

Feb 25th, 14:01

Sir, the salaries are not the issue here, which by the way are by far inferior to the amounts made in private practice or in other countries. Some respect. The issue at hand is that there's a growing demand for medical services within MDH and this is not able to cope. Quick fixes won't do the trick and the corridors will eventually fill up also. Useless pointing fingers and accusing unless we come up with a real solution. Personally i believe that the hospital requires expansion by adding extra floors.

alfred seguna

Feb 25th, 12:42

Don't ever try to find whose fault this disaster is.By the time the tax payers starts to feel the effects of the disaster of any national project those responsible would have moved out of the way and the taxpayer is left stranded.We have the e.g. of the AVRO JETS of Air Malta.We have the Cirkewwa project etc etc.Projects which take years on end and never get finished and when they get finished we discover that the cost is ten times the original.And the story goes on that no one is RESPONSIBLE and no one is ACCOUNTABLE.The people will only pay the taxes to make up for all this WASTE of money

Angus Black

Feb 25th, 13:10

Familiar comments harken back to the days when Mater Dei was still under construction. The fact remains that people with an agenda never accept what the government does and constantly talk about 'patient rights', which, in other days were totally ignored, doctors were locked out and every patient was in danger every time he/she was looked after by a non-English speaking doctor who sometimes did not even understand what the patient's complaint was. Talk about 'patient rights'!

Needless to say, for some, MD is too small but had it been larger, it would have been too large. We all know how militant the MUMN is and how they seem to always have a bone to pick. This is a time of restraint and budget cuts, so spending millions more is not in the works for now.

Mater Dei has been hailed as one of the best in Europe and provides excellent service to its patients but Mr Grech whose comments mirror those we used to hear from the LP, thinks that the corridors are too wide! If design comes to question, how about the design of the LPHQ gallarija which resembles an old fashioned hoist used to lift stone slabs to levels above first floor? One wonders what the architect had in mind and how much he was paid for his services. Maybe (s)he did it pro bono, but still it lacks appeal and imagination.

" He should be made to resign" has the familiar Mile End ring to it..

Joseph Calleja

Feb 25th, 17:00

To be honest Mater Dei Hospital was planned years and years ago and it was Ok to accommodate all the citizens at the time. The planners of this state of the art hospital did not think enough far ahead. When we joined the EU the number of people coming into this country grew tremendously, then the Illegal Immigration Invasion happened and the bucket got filled pretty fast to the point of overflow, and one last thing, don't forget people are living a lot longer these days and require medical attention.

william cauchi

Feb 25th, 17:55

@Joseph Calleja ''Mater Dei Hospital was planned years and years ago to accommodate all the citizens at the time''

I am sorry this completely away from the truth. Mater Dei was never planned accommodate everybody but only as an addition to St. Lukes. Originally it was planned to be half of what it is today but then Alfred Sant decided to increase the capacity drastically.

But still not enough. Yes, Mater Dei is a state of art hospital but in fact it accommodates less patients than St. Lukes did. That is the problem, and with the increase in population, the situation is getting much worse.

Adrian P. Cassar

Feb 25th, 20:00

Dear Joseph calleja, what a load of bull!!!!
Do you really honestly think that people in the health dept are idiots!!

The planner in the deprtment know one or two things about our demographics. Our population now is what was predicted many decades ago. Nobody is surprised. And no, there is virtually no big problems with illegal immigrants or other immigrants. If you go to MDH, the only immigrants you will see will be the ones working hard keeping it spick and span. The odd foreign patient here and there is usually an old tourist or old resident.

The planners planned everything to perfection....the only snag was that they built a hospital that would suite us fine if work practices and long term care of the elderly was done appropriately. While the planner kept their end of the bargain and built good hospital...the government ignored the problems plaguing our health care system completely. If you take out all social cases....our hospital would not be in this state.