Independent MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said that on more than one occasion the private sector was on the verge of renting St Philip’s Hospital at a much cheaper rate than what the Government was prepared to pay.
It therefore did not make sense for the Government to compete with the private sector when it had a viable option in rehabilitating St Luke’s.
He said it was a sign of disrespect that the Government had not brought a motion by another MP for discussion so that certain questions might be asked. This was why he had emphasised the importance of a debate taking place before the agreement was signed.
Just four hours after Health Minister Joe Cassar said on the TVM programme Dissett (recorded at 2pm) that the Cabinet was to discuss this issue before signing the agreement, the Government said the deal would be signed.
What was the hurry when negotiations had been ongoing for three years?
Dr Pullicino Orlando pointed out that St Philip’s Hospital was no state of the art hospital. Almost all equipment had been sold and the little remaining was old and could not be used.
Although the Health Minister’s claim that there were not many hospitals for sale was true, St Philip’s was not a full-fledged hospital that was needed, but rather a rehabilitation area.
Why had Dr Frank Portelli not allowed The Times journalists to enter the hospital to examine the present state of the property?
Dr Pullicino Orlando said the word “arrogance” did not even begin to describe such an action.
The public had every right to be concerned that there was no call for applications for an agreement costing millions of euros, when there could have been other potential buildings.
Considering the Government would be doubling the number of beds, rehabilitating the hospital and bringing it up to Mater Dei’s standard, it was hardly likely that it would consider returning it to its owner. Therefore, it did not make sense to say that it would be open to scrutiny if it was to be purchased.
While the Medicines Authority has serious financial problems, it did not make sense to spend millions on a project that was not being done transparently. It would definitely cost less to make St Luke’s a state-of-the-art hospital, even though he had no figures.