Updated - PM comments as Franco Mercieca stops private ops

Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca will no longer conduct private eye operations. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Updated - PM comments - Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca will no longer conduct private eye operations, following an investigation by The Sunday Times of Malta which found he was earning €3,600 in a morning in breach of the Code of Ethics. The issue was discussed between Mr Mercieca and the prime minister on Tuesday. Mr Mercieca will continue to work free of charge at Mater Dei.

Replying to questions this morning, Dr Muscat confirmed that to avoid misinterpretation, Mr Mercieca agreed to immediately stop all his interventions even if this meant that patients would suffer. This, Dr Muscat said, was a wise decision since there were people who, in spite of the waiver, tried to instrumentalise the situation.There was at least one patient who would have to go abroad because he was not referred to Mr Mercieca. The Prime Minister noted that a former minister, who he refused to name, had a consultancy contract with a government company in his own name. 

When he was appointed parliamentary secretary for the elderly, Mr Mercieca was granted special permission to continue practising eye surgery when patients required the ophthalmic specialisation only he could provide locally.

However, an investigation by The Sunday Times of Malta found he was also carrying out cataract operations and laser surgery at a private hospital, in clear breach of the waiver granted to him by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Originally, Mr Mercieca denied being in breach of the waiver and threatened to take legal action against this newspaper. He later announced he would wind down his work with a view of ending all operations by September.

But a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday informed Times of Malta that Dr Muscat and Mr Mercieca met on Tuesday to discuss the matter and they agreed he would stop private operations immediately. In fact, he cancelled the operations scheduled for yesterday.

He would like to retain his skills and not lose his expertise

Mr Mercieca will now still be offering his services free of charge at Mater Dei Hospital, on Sundays, and at Gozo General Hospital during another slot that is yet to be determined.

The spokesman said he would be doing this so as to continue offering the specialisations that only he could provide locally (phakic implants and cornea cross-linking operations) as well as to help with the backlog and waiting lists of more routine operations like cataracts.

“He is also doing it because he would like to retain his skills and not lose his expertise,” the spokesman added, who stressed that the Prime Minister wanted him to continue his good work as a parliamentary secretary.

Times of Malta is also informed that the limited waiver granted to Mr Mercieca was given to him in written form but it did not delve into the specifics of which operations he could carry out and which he could not.

The waiver, a copy of which has been seen by Times of Malta, said Mr Mercieca could continue operating on patients who required his specialisations and where his absence would be of detriment to patients.

The spokesman said Mr Mercieca understood the waiver as allowing him to continue holding routine operations since stopping them altogether would create a backlog for patients. He also believed patients who put their trust in him should not be forced to be operated by someone else.

However, Dr Muscat took a different interpretation of the waiver and when he was recently asked whether Mr Mercieca was also permitted to carry out cataract operations, he replied by saying: “No, I’m talking about his specialisations.”

The Sunday Times of Malta revealed that Mr Mercieca performed nine operations last Wednesday at a private hospital in Sliema, at a fee of €400 each.

Listen to the Prime Minister's comments in the attached audio file.