Mater Dei will get staff boost by the end of the year. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Nursing staff at Mater Dei Hospital will increase by 250 by the end of this year, according to Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne.

A total of 150 Maltese nurses were engaged last month and another 100 from the EU would be employed by December, Mr Fearne said during an interview on One Radio.

Another 20 nurses were doing their resit exams and “once they pass, they will be employed too”.

The bigger complement forms part of the government’s plans to build another two floors adjacent to the hospital’s accident and emergency department, where the road leading to the ambulance garage is situated.

Mr Fearne said the original plans were to build the additional storeys consisting of 68 beds on top of the emergency department but The Sunday Times of Malta had revealed that the concrete structures were very weak.

“The concrete could have been used to fill trenches not build columns. We took steps to strengthen the structure so there is no concern that something would give way,” said Mr Fearne. The new site would create more bed space and an application had been filed with the planning authority, he said.

When asked by a caller whether the government had back-up plans in case the hospital structures were found to be unsafe, Mr Fearne said all tests indicated it was not possible to add floors.

“There is no need to abandon the hospital. We have a contingency plan just in case but the results show it is not in imminent danger.”

The health authorities were awaiting results of ongoing investigations but Mr Fearne reassured listeners that all measures had been taken to strengthen and make the emergency department safe.

“The inquiry [into the weak concrete structures] is moving ahead and people will be held responsible whether it is legally, administratively, financially or politically,” Mr Fearne said.

Turning to waiting lists, he said these had been slashed since he was appointed parliamentary secretary six months ago.

The two-year waiting lists for MRI scans were cut to two months through an agreement with two private hospitals and by increasing the working hours of the staff at Mater Dei to 18 from 10.

“People are being called in at 1am for a scan,” Mr Fearne said.

Similarly, the waiting list for angiograms was reduced from two years to one month.