The hospital authorities have filed a counter judicial protest against the family of an elderly patient who was sent home from Mater Dei Hospital wrapped in a blanket and wearing just a nappy.
The authorities contested the allegations made by the family who accused the hospital of revealing the patient’s medical information to the public.
Vincent Zammit and his family filed a judicial protest last week accusing the Director General of Health, John Cachia, on behalf of the hospital, of breaching data protection laws and the Criminal Code.
They said it was “totally unacceptable” that the hospital made sensitive information on his “alleged” medical conditions public.
The story came to light when Mr Zammit’s wife, Madelene, and son, Jesmond, admitted in court to resisting the police and arguing with the crew of an ambulance over how their relative had been released from Mater Dei.
The family later said they were angry at the way Mr Zammit was sent home in such an undignified manner and criticised the hospital for forcing them into a helpless situation where they had to wait for him to die as he was not eating or drinking.
In an internal, unpublished report, the hospital, denied the family’s claims that Mr Zammit had been treated in an undignified manner. It insisted there were “no shortcomings” on its part in terms of Mr Zammit’s care.
The hospital reported that Mr Zammit was “physically aggressive” to staff who tried to dress him and calm him down and that there was no evidence of any acute psychiatric conditions.
The family, however, said the hospital had crossed the line when reacting to their complaints about the way Mr Zammit, 76, was sent home in an ambulance.
In their counter-protest, the hospital authorities said that it was the government’s Chief Medical Officer, Natasha Muscat Azzopardi, who was responsible for the Department of Health and not the Director General of Health.
The hospital insisted it did not release any information regarding the patient’s health and the contents of the report were also kept confidential.
Furthermore, it added, the analysis included in the report was never released to third parties because of confidentiality.
Lawyers Brigitte Gafà and Alan Scicluna signed the protest.