It is sometimes almost unbelievable how matters that ought to get priority attention fall by the wayside in the wash of far less important controversies. National interest in the John Dalli report on Mater Dei Hospital, for instance, suddenly lost momentum when it was deflected by a subsidiary issue over who had actually commissioned him to draw up the report.
Worse than this, however, is what seems to have been the total disinterest shown in a report that revealed that Malta’s public healthcare system has deteriorated significantly this year. It is this report, rather than who had commissioned Mr Dalli, that ought to preoccupy the minds of all those who really wish to see the island’s healthcare improve.
Equally important was the reaction to the Dalli report of the Mater Dei’s hospital’s chief executive officer, Joseph Caruana, who, in an interview, substantiated in a clear manner one of the main problems facing the healthcare system: political interference.
Some of the revelations made by Mr Dalli in his report titled Mater Dei Hospital: A Better Social Return may have raised eyebrows. Most frustrating, however, is that, while the country usually pats itself on back for the excellent medical service given by the practitioners, it is clear the country is now falling behind in the general standard of the service, as a Euro Health Consumer Index shows. The picture of the situation that has just been given by the nurses’ union is indeed most disconcerting, too.
Of course, not all that is connected with the running of the hospital or the health service is negative. The country notches up a number of good marks in some lines, such as in cancer therapy, and there is nothing to be ashamed of for having a zero score for shunning abortion. May the mark on this score remain the same.
However, the conclusion in the index that healthcare is deteriorating significantly ought to seriously put a stop to all the resistance to change so often displayed whenever attempts are made to put things right.
Malta may have kept its ranking, a low 26th place out of 35, but the fact is that, according to the index, it has failed to register any progress in public healthcare. Compared to other European countries, Malta is also losing ground significantly.
What should bring the country to its senses is a remark that the island is registering the same trends as Cyprus and Greece even though Malta was not affected by the financial crisis. The only reason it kept its place in the scoreboard, despite losing ground overall, is that some other European countries have done worse.
As expected, some unions have already cried foul over the Dalli report and there can be little doubt that these will keep up their resistance if the administration attempts to push ahead with any reforms.
The people in the health service know only too well what needs to be done to bring about the required efficiency, both at the general hospital and in the healthcare service generally. The real issue is whether the politicians are prepared to let go of their interference in the service.
The country has been diagnosing the trouble for far too long. What is needed is strong political willpower to break the walls of resistance.
With the support the party in government had at the last general election in March, it is in most comfortable position to move ahead and show it means business.
The question is: will it?