Is there a connection between the recent call made by the Chamber of Commerce calling for the inculcation of a culture of excellence and the incident last weekend when a helicopter could not land on the helipad at St Luke’s Hospital because a parked car was in the way?
I say there is. The story behind the story of the use of the St Luke’s helipad is a tale of confusion wrought by improvisations under different administrations over a number of years.
It is the result of the lack of long-term planning in this country and of political decisions taken for short-term gain while the long-term disadvantages are ignored. The story goes back to when the Alfred Sant administration – under pressure from the doctors’ lobby – decided that what today is Mater Dei Hospital was to replace St Luke’s, rather than the originally intended specialised hospital for particular areas of medical treatment. Since then, no administration has found the time – or the people – to think about a sensible use for the site of St Luke’s Hospital that was to be abandoned as soon as Mater Dei Hospital began to be used. To date, this is all of 17 years and counting.
After Mater Dei was inaugurated, one blue-eyed boy decided that a small part of the St Luke’s site could be utilised for the offices of Malta Enterprise – a decision taken with incredible short-sightedness in the absence of plans for the rest of the hospital site.
Today, if one visits the luxurious and expensive Malta Enterprise headquarters, one has to pass through the abandoned precincts of what once was a general hospital that actually needed refurbishment, not replacement.
I am sure that foreign would-be investors visiting the Malta Enterprise offices are doubly confused and astonished.
The Malta Enterprise building is sited some 25 metres away from what used to be the unused helipad of St Luke’s Hospital, which then became a handy parking area for Malta Enterprise employees.
Eventually, in a seemingly unconnected decision, after different ministers of health changed the siting of the Oncology Unit at least two times – wasting a good amount of euros in the process – the decision was taken to build it next to Mater Dei and the works were started. This meant, however, that the tower cranes used for this construction obstructed the safe landing and taking off of helicopters using the helipad at Mater Dei – that, incidentally, was moved from its originally intended position as part of a politically-ordered cost-cutting measure.
So during the construction of the Oncology Department, the hospital authorities started using the helipad at St Luke’s and transferring patients and medical teams from St Luke’s helipad to Mater Dei and back as the case may be.
This re-use of the St Luke’s helipad had to be accepted as a way of life by the employees of Malta Enterprise until what could happen, did actually happen last Saturday week when Sod’s law – if it can happen it will – was once again vindicated.
By the way, the Mater Dei helipad is now also being obstructed by the tower crane erected in connection with the recently improvised extension of the Accident and Emergency Department at Mater Dei. Improvisation in the absence of long-term planning has now become a Maltese art form.
In this case, the tears of confusion have now become a veritable flood.
Sensible long-term planning – a part of the culture of excellence – is not a Maltese characteristic.
It is too rigid and allows no elbow room for the politicians who happen to rule the roost. We prefer to wallow in improvisations. For some 22 years, the country did not bother to update its first-ever Structure Plan that had become obsolete – developments such as Smart City and the erection of the new Parliament building in Valletta were diametrically opposed to its policies.
Sensible long-term planning – a part of the culture of excellence – is not a Maltese characteristic
The Structure Plan is now to be replaced by a Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development that has been rightly criticised as being too superficial and vague – the better both for our improvisational skills and for political manoeuvring, of course!
I am probably in a minority in this, as many would say that the real reason of the ‘car-preventing-helicopter-landing’ story has nothing to do with planning.
They maintain that all we needed is a bit of common sense that is so lacking in this country. In fact, they would continue to argue, the problem would not have arisen if the helipad at the former St Luke’s Hospital was properly secured and guarded.
Therefore, the solution is glaringly simple: employ eight watchmen so that the helipad is secured 24/7. No prizes for guessing how the watchmen will be recruited, of course.
Thank God for the improvisational skills of our politicians. Where would we be without them?
Probably trying to follow some rigid unworkable long-term plan concocted by some useless expensive consultant. Who needs consultants when we are savvy enough to solve all our problems?
micfal@maltanet.net