A new site within the Mater Dei precincts has been identified for hospital expansion and plans have already been submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said this morning.

Speaking on One Radio, he said that a new site had to be identified after the government had to shelve plans to build an additional two floors on Mater Dei’s accident and emergency department because of weak structures.

The Parliamentary Secretary said that investigations relating to weak structures were to continue, an inquiry was underway and those who would be found responsible would have to shoulder responsibility but the government had managed to turn a problem into an opportunity.

The new structure will have more than two wards and would take more than the originally planned 68 beds

Mr Fearne also spoke about the increase in nurses saying that another 250 including 100 from other EU countries, would have been employed by the end of the year.

He also spoke about the reduction in waiting time including for MRI’s - from two years to two months and catarachts, which operations had been increased by 60 per cent.

The government was now working to reduce waiting lists for knee and hip replacements. There were around 6,000 people waiting for these operations, in at least one case, up to nine years.

The government was also working to tackle vein operations and had ordered equipment for these operations to start being carried out in the Outpatients Department.

Mr Fearne said the government was refurbishing old clinics, it was working to build a new health centre in Paola and working with primary health doctors for these to work longer hours. Clinics would also start opening for longer hours soon.