A British pensioner who has been living in Malta for 20 years has won €11,000 in damages from the government, following a legal battle for compensation for medical treatment received in the Netherlands.

John Dodds, a septuagenarian who has been living in Malta since 1996, had been registered with the Entitlement Unit within the Health Ministry since 2006.

During a holiday in France in July 2009, Mr Dodds fell into a coma before he was transferred to a nursing home where he was supposed to spend a month. 

The patient, who is an amputee, was not satisfied with the treatment and used his Dutch health insurance policy to be transferred to the Netherlands for further care.

Mr Dodds had not considered returning to Malta as his Portomaso property, which had a split-level floor, was not suitable for his condition which bound him to a wheelchair.

However, upon his arrival in the Netherlands, it transpired that he had contracted MRSA and had to be kept in isolation. His condition also took a turn for the worse when a lump was discovered in his leg which prevented him from flying.

Consequently, he was unable to receive treatment in Malta, but the Entitlement Unit refused to cover his expenses insisting that the surgery could be carried out on the island.

Meanwhile, his application for a European Health Insurance Card was refused as the Maltese authorities insisted that the application could be submitted from the Netherlands. They also argued that by the time his Maltese application would be processed, his card would have expired.

In its decision, the court, presided by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, dismissed the assertion of the Maltese health authorities that the patient had failed to request prior authorisation before the surgery.

She ordered the Chief Medical Officer to pay Mr Dodds €11,079.