A 40-bed private hospital that cost €9 million to build was inaugurated by the Prime Minister this morning. 

St Thomas Hospital will employ some 40 people, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told the press, adding that the government will also be working with the hospital to have surgeries held at the private hospital instead of Mater Dei.

Dr Muscat said that the state had signed a contract agreeing to pay for some 200 orthopaedic procedures to be carried out at the Qormi hospital, as part of efforts to cut down the number of patients on waiting lists. 

The hospital is being branded as a boutique hospital, with attention given to aesthetics as well as high medical standards.

The Prime Minister said this would also serve to attract those foreigners seeking treatment in Malta. The government, he said, has in the past months been working to boost medical tourism, adding that St Thomas Hospital would surely be contributing to this.

Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the hospital also houses a CT scanner that works using the latest technology, with the hospital being the only one on the island to have such a scanner.