The number of patients taking up hospital beds for months on end has dropped drastically in recent years, a Eurostat report shows, as long-term beds available dropped from 205 to just 48.

The report by the European Union’s statistics office published recently showed that while in 2008, Malta’s hospitals had the second highest number of beds allocated to patients who required long-term care, by 2014, this had dropped to 48.

Patients. who are considered as occupying long-term care beds, are those who due to chronic illnesses are unable to live independently and require a certain level of palliative care.

These also include beds for psychiatric and non-psychiatric acute care.

A number of measures have been adopted by Mater Dei

Asked what had caused the drop, a Health Ministry spokeswoman told this newspaperthat a number of measures have been adopted by Mater Dei to limit the number of patients who would spend extended periods of time there.

“These measures included the launching of various outreach services that help our elderly patients remain in the community and decrease readmissions to hospital, as well as otherinitiatives such as the partnerships with the private sector,” the spokeswoman said.

The issue with such social cases has for years plagued the hospital, with medical staff complaining about the negative impact this would have on the general running of hospitals.

The drop, however, could also have been attributed to St Vincent De Paul being reclassified as a long-term residence as opposed to a hospital, she added.

Describing the issue as a “challenge”, the spokeswoman added that it was crucial that the issue of patients taking up beds for long stretches was adequately addressed. The report also outlined the number of hospital beds used for curative care and which are occupied by patients who require short-term care.

This figure also dropped during the years under review, going from a total of 1,353 beds to some 316 beds.  Beds used for rehabilitation have also decreased in recent years, down to 102 beds from 436 which means that in six years, the number of available beds dropped from 1,994 to 466.

claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com