Updated, Adds government reaction - Mater Dei’s Hospital Activity Report for the first half of this year confirmed the government’s failure in the health sector, the shadow minister for health, Claudette Buttigieg, said today.
The report showed, Ms Buttigieg said, that the increase in patients at Mater Dei was not due to an increase in elective surgery. Every week, she said, the number of admissions, on average, exceeded the number of discharges by 50. Only 16% of admissions were for elective surgery.
At the Emergency Department, there had been an increase of 7% in patients, and control had been lost, with 72% of patients having gone there without referral.
Ms Buttigieg noted that 23,024 patients went to hospital when they could have gone to health centres. But the health centres lacked investment.
But figures also showed that outpatients had given up on the hospital, with 53% not honouring their outpatient appointments.
Ms Buttigieg said the hospital was suffering an unprecedented management crisis.
"Never in the history of Mater Dei were patients kept in the corridors during the summer. Today this has become the norm," Ms Buttigieg said.
She observed that the number of patients needing long term care while occupying a bed at Mater Dei had climbed to 451.
Nationalist candidate Mario Rizzo Naudi said the PN was concerned over government plans to privatise sections of the health service, particularly in Gozo. Had the government given up on solving the problems of the sector?
Dr Rizzo Naudi said it appeared that the roadmap mentioned before the general election did not exist, with the government’s only solution to current problems being privatisation.
GOVERNMENT REACTION
In a reaction, the Ministry of Health said this was not the first summer with patients in the corridors. Between June and September 2011 there were 2,577 persons in the corridors, while in the summer of 2012 there were 2,596.
This government, however, was working to solve the problem. A large new block was under construction. By the end of this year it would house the Medical Admission Unit with 68 new beds. On completion, it would have 300 new beds.
It was not true that there were 451 long-term care patients at Mater Dei. There were actually 81, the ministry said. Furthermore, the government was planning to convert Karin Grech Hospital into a geriatric hospital while St Luke's would be revamped and become a rehabilitation hospital.
The ministry said the number of operations at Mater Dei had increased considerably. In 2012 there were 45,461 of which 38,165 were elective. Last year there were 51,531 of which 43,702 were elective.
The ministry also pointed out how long-standing problems had been solved, such as the problem of out of stock medicines. Waiting lists had also been considerably reduced in many sectors.