St Philip’s Hospital owner Frank Portelli is planning to sue the Government for damages, a year after the previous administration pulled out of an eight-year lease agreement at the last minute.
The deal would have paved the way for the conversion of this private 100-bed hospital, which had closed down after running into financial difficulties, to be converted into a rehabilitation facility. The aim was to alleviate some of the load from Mater Dei Hospital.
The Government did not honour its commitment
The PN-led administration wanted to make use of the hospital, owned by the former Nationalist Party president and MEP candidate, at a cost of €850,000 a year. The two sides had also agreed that the Government would have the option of buying it outright from the third year onwards, based on a valuation of €12.4 million.
The proposed deal had stirred controversy and the issue was raised in Parliament. The government of the time had then pledged to have the contract open to scrutiny but only after the deal was signed.
Independent MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and PN rebel backbencher Franco Debono were among the most vociferous critics of the deal. Dr Debono had even submitted a private member’s motion calling for the contract to be withdrawn pending parliamentary scrutiny.
The Government had justified its decision in favour of the leasing option, saying that refurbishing the old St Luke’s Hospital, as some had suggested, would have required an investment of around €40 million.
But for some reason the deal never materialised.
We suffered losses as the Government had pledged to sign the agreement
Contacted yesterday, Dr Portelli accused the previous administration of “negotiating in bad faith”. He said that after pledging to sign the contract the Government pulled out at the very last moment.
At the end of last year he had filed a judicial protest, the first stage before suing for damages.
“We suffered losses as the Government had pledged to sign the agreement on October 16,” he said. However he declined to give any figures, saying it would be up to the court to determine the amount to be liquidated.
The Government had twice failed to keep its word, he added: “The first time the contract was not signed because some modifications were requested, but even after he acquiesced, the Government did not honour its commitment”.
The Government’s collapse last December when it lost a vote on the budget put paid to any hope of an agreement coming through.
Dr Portelli said that since the change of government in March, no major developments had occurred.