Two new wards will take the pressure off Mater Dei Hospital’s Emergency Unit after they were given the go-ahead yesterday.
Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Ian Borg yesterday said some €15 million had been allocated to new projects in the health sector.
The bulk of the cash, €8.4 million, will go towards setting up a Medical Assessment Unit while the rest will be spent on new equipment.
The new acute unit, being paid for by the European Regional Development Fund, will house 68 new beds to “enable the introduction of a more efficient service for patients in an acute condition”.
The funds form part of the 2007-2013 EU budget.
Last year the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses had said “chronic overcrowding” at the hospital would only be resolved if the number of hospital beds was substantially increased.
The union specifically called for an additional acute hospital section to be opened.
The new unit is a separate project from the proposed revamp of the hospital’s emergency department, which will double the number of paramedic ambulances from 44 to 88.
The parliamentary secretary told a press conference that the amount of EU funds at risk of being lost had been significantly reduced thanks to “a surge of vitality in stagnating projects”.
Last month Dr Borg revealed as much as €200 million was vulnerable due to several projects falling behind deadlines.
A further €3.6 million has been allocated for new equipment in six sections of the Gozo General Hospital including the operating theatres, endoscopy unit, obstetrics and gynaecology departments.
Some €3.4 million was allocated for the purchase of modern screening equipment at Mater Dei. This includes digital X-ray units, an intravenous fluorescent angiography camera, an ultrasound machine and a direct digital mammography unit.
€3.8m to train employees
A total of €3.8 million from the European Social Fund will be used to help workers improve their job skills through new training programmes, Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Ian Borg announced.
Some 1,400 employees are expected to benefit from the schemes, which are being targeted at Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, the National Commission for Equal Opportunities, Transport Malta, the Malta Sports Council and the Health Department.
The training schemes are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.