Steps are being taken for the so called “social cases” at Mater Dei Hospital to start paying part of their pension in keeping with the practice with similar patients in other public health institutions.

Answering a parliamentary question by Anthony Decelis (PL), Health Minister Joseph Cassar said the term “social case” was not used at Mater Dei Hospital. When a patient no longer needed medical care but could not return to his or her private residence they were called “intermediate care patients”.

Such patients fell into two categories: those awaiting transfer to Karen Grech Rehabilitation Hospital and those awaiting transfer to long-term care beds. So long as such patients remained at Mater Dei, they continued to fall under the responsibility of their medical consultants.