Mater Dei CEO Joseph Caruana. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Joseph Caruana will remain Mater Dei Hospital CEO, reversing his decision to leave the post after being asked to stay on by the new Health Minister.

The change of heart was prompted by what Mr Caruana described as the determination of the new political team at the helm to do things differently.

“There is no micro-management,” he told Times of Malta yesterday, without elaborating.

He confirmed that the fresh term will be at least six months long until the revision of the management structure is completed.

In January, Mr Caruana had asked then health minister Godfrey Farrugia not to be considered for the post when his term ended in May.

Only last week the CEO confirmed his intention to leave but things appeared to have taken a different twist after he met Health Minister Konrad Mizzi and Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne.

The pair took charge of the health sector in the wake of the Cabinet reshuffle last month.

I will be putting in more effort to maintain the right direction we have embarked on

Dr Farrugia had resigned from his post as health minister after turning down the Prime Minister’s offer to take up the social solidarity ministry.

Speaking to this newspaper last week, Mr Caruana had mentioned the slow pace at which things were done in the public sector as a big frustration, something that was unlikely to change very quickly. While acknowledging the obstacles of the civil service were unlikely to go away, Mr Caruana said the new minister and parliamentary secretary had the necessary focus to change things.

“Not one day has passed that I did not go to work with motivation and I will be putting in more effort to maintain the right direction we have embarked on,” he said.

Mr Caruana, an engineer, was appointed CEO in 2011 and last year vented his frustration at political intrusion at Mater Dei Hospital that over the years weakened the management and rendered it ineffective.

His public confession came in the wake of a damning report on the state of Mater Dei by former European health commissioner John Dalli, who had called for hospitals with more autonomy and urged politicians to keep their hands off their day-to-day running.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com