Sir Paul Boffa Hospital is to be refurbished so that it can continue to be used as a hospital after it ceases to be used as an oncology facility in the coming weeks, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Chris Fearne, said.

In an intervention on the Radio Malta programme Ghandi xi Nghid, Dr Fearne said the migration of cancer patients from Sir Paul Boffa Hospital will take place in the near future once Sir Anthony Mamo oncology hospital is completed.

The Floriana hospital will then be refurbished in order to return to service as a hospital by the end of the year, easing the demand for beds at Mater Dei. This, he said was a temporary measure.

Works, he said, would also be carried out for the same purpose at St Luke's and Gozo Hospital to increase the number of beds.

A new block that will take nearly 70 beds is currently being built on the grounds of Mater Dei Hospital.

Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, former King George V (KGV) Hospital was initially opened in 1922 as a memorial to the men of the British Merchant Navy who died in World War I. The building was severely damaged by aerial bombing 1942 but hospital services were never interrupted.

The hospital was  rebuilt in 1948 under the premiership of Paul Boffa and renamed Sir Paul Boffa Hospital in 1976.

The ultimate plans for Sir Paul Boffa Hospital is for it to be offered as a hotel.

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.