In the five years between 2007 and June 22, 2011, the government sent 1,315 patients to UK for medical care.
The respective numbers from 2007 were 258, 279, 296, 306 and 176, said Health Minister Joseph Cassar in reply to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Owen Bonnici. He added that between January and May this year the government had paid out €43,818.47 for the transport of patients.
The government had accommodation contracts with Puttinu Children Support Group in Sutton, Surrey, and with the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Victoria, London. Accommodation rates were €50 per apartment per night in Sutton and €36 per bed per night in Victoria when outpatients were involved.
There had been two cases in which patients’ relatives accompanying them had been unable to afford the accommodation. They had been helped by the Community Chest Fund, which had directly footed the bills.