Four international companies had approached the government with interest to operate private hospitals and develop medical tourism, Health Minister Konrad Mizzi has disclosed.

He said these were investor groups, which included a company that owns hospitals around the world, a health-related investment fund and insurance companies.

Speaking in the wake of government’s plan to attract a €200 million investment in the Gozo general hospital and St Luke’s Hospital, Dr Mizzi told The Sunday Times of Malta the companies had “a pipeline” of patients through links with insurance firms.

However, he denied the ambitious investment plan was a done deal. The interest shown by the foreign investors had spurred the government to look at a public-private partnership model for healthcare services, he added.

Industry sources told this newspaper that over the past 12 months investor groups were eyeing St Luke’s Hospital, in particular, with considerable interest. However, they cautioned it was the detail that mattered in any public-private partnership model.

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