The government will be buying 10 beds in a privately-owned home for the elderly in Gozo in an effort to alleviate the burden on the hospital that has been experiencing overcrowding due to increasing social cases.

This was the first time the State was providing long-term care in Gozo, Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly Justyne Caruana told a news conference.

She said her secretariat bought the 10 beds through a private-public-partnership, from Villa San Lawrenz, a private home.

The 10 elderly people, who were currently at the Gozo hospital, will start being moved to the home tomorrow.

Speaking outside the Gozo General Hospital, Dr Caruana said the government recognised there was a problem at the hospital due to social problems that were on the increase.

This problem had recently been raised by the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses that said the bed shortage situation at the Gozo hospital was escalating.

Precious bed space was being occupied by elderly patients and social cases, leaving no beds for acutely ill patients or surgical patients, the union said. It had also issued directives to nurses to stop elective surgery in the female general ward – where the problem started.

Yesterday, union president Paul Pace welcomed the government’s efforts to alleviate the problems and said the directive had been lifted. He said these 10 beds would make a big difference at the hospital that had about 60 beds.

Dr Caruana said the government was aware of the problems in Gozo where there was no State-run home for the elderly on an island with an aging population.

Last week, she said, the government announced the start of respite services in Gozo through which relatives could leave an elderly person at Villa San Lawrenz for up to three weeks to get some rest from being full-time carers.

Last year, Gozo Minister Anton Refalo had said that St Joseph Home in Għajnsielem will be rented out from the Gozo church. It will be converted into a home for the elderly with 70 rooms and 140 beds.