Some eight per cent of the bed space at Mater Dei Hospital is currently taken up by long-term patients who should be treated elsewhere, according to figures obtained by The Sunday Times of Malta.
When contacted, a spokesman from the Parliamentary Secretariat for Active Ageing said that some 79 long-term patients were occupying the bed space, with 44 waiting to be admitted into a residential home while the remaining 35 were awaiting admission to Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital.
There is also an additional “handful” of patients classified as social cases who are currently residing at Mater Dei. These social cases would require a tailor-made, specific solution.
These numbers are the lowest recorded for this time of the year
“While we’re not satisfied with these numbers, it is to be noted that these numbers are the lowest recorded for this time of the year since Mater Dei’s opening six years ago,” the spokesman said.
Bed shortage crises are experienced every winter when the influenza season kicks in.
When asked how the government was handling the problem, the spokesman replied that the admission process was re-engineered to include only medical professionals based at Karin Grech Hospital and, consequently, avoiding costly mismatches between actual patient needs and bed dependency.
In the past, the system involved an admission board that relied on patient assessments drawn up by social workers.
“This approach has its first positive results late last year, where the number of year-on-year long-term care nights registered at Mater Dei decreased by almost 37 per cent.
“Is it enough? We agree it’s not, but we are very positive about these results achieved in these last months.”
In a bid to tackle this shortage while steering away from exorbitant costs, the government in July issued a call for an expression of interest in the provision of facilities for elderly people needing long-term care.
The government’s long-term strategy is to keep more elderly people living in the community for longer.
This is only possible, the spokesman continued, by improving the quality of the current community services offered.
“We started already with the TelecarePlus hub – next in line is the Meals on Wheels service. We need to improve quality and expand reach of these services to a wider pool of elderly that require them.
“Parallel to this we plan to introduce new services and launch various initiatives so that our elderly would really have the choice to continue to live in their community.”
However, Opposition Spokesman for the Elderly Mario Galea told this newspaper that the government left it too long and did not equip itself for the yearly problem from well ahead.
“When in government, the PN increased some 200 beds every year during the past five years. We opened the new Pope John Paul II block in St Vincent de Paul and extended the Zammit Clapp Hospital and the residential homes at Żejtun and Mellieħa.
“The previous government had also planned to convert Casa Flamini in Paola into a home for the elderly and a night shelter.
“I am informed by reliable sources that the Labour government only reached for the keys of Casa Flamini over the Christmas period, which was too late.”