Six injured Libyans were flown to Malta for treatment on Saturday night, including a dangerously critical three-year-old boy with a brain injury who is being cared for at the Intensive Therapy Unit at Mater Dei Hospital.
The other five, including an eight-year-old boy, are recovering at Saint James Hospital, where other seriously injured but not critical patients are being treated.
Malta last week turned down a group of critically injured Libyans since the ITU at Mater Dei was full. But sources say the Libyans persuaded the authorities to take the critical toddler, since some beds have since been freed up. Unlike late last month when a group of 14 injured Libyans came to Malta, Saturday’s trip was not publicised.
Health Minister Joe Cassar mentioned the arrivals during a PN activity in Mosta yesterday, where he rejected criticism about the government bringing wounded Libyans to an already overcrowded hospital. He also implicitly criticised the leadership style of his predecessor, EU Health Commissioner John Dalli.
“I was criticised because I think, weigh things up and consult before taking a decision, not like others who came before me. God forbid I do not consult and just take decisions impulsively,” he said.
He was referring to criticism made by the head of the nurses’ union Paul Pace who told one Sunday newspaper that Mr Dalli acted like “a mini Prime Minister” who took decisions “point blank”, without consultation.
During the same activity, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that when faced with an important test, Malta made the right choice.
“Imagine if our country took the side of (Muammar) Gaddafi, how I would have to hide in shame... I would have been ashamed even if we decided not to take a stand and play to the gallery.”
Libya’s current leaders, he said, had recognised Malta’s helpful role and the two countries were now in a good position to expand their relationship, particularly on a commercial level.
Dr Gonzi warned that the situation in Libya was dire and a “massacre” was taking place in Sirte.
Speaking about problems at Mater Dei Hospital, he said that waiting lists must be reduced but some decisions had to be taken.
Some operations were now being performed at private hospitals at taxpayers’ expense.
“Put yourselves in our shoes... Will you choose to reduce electricity prices or, as we are doing, give people a cataract operation? That is my choice and I’m not afraid to say it.”
He said the opposition promised to do both, and everything else, but never said how.
“These are fairytales... soap bubbles which will burst at the first gust of wind.”
Dr Cassar said it was impossible to bring the waiting lists down to zero in an aging population but the numbers were going down.
“(The Labour Party) always sees the glass half empty and we always see it half full,” he said, to loud applause.
Dr Cassar gave an emotional account of meeting war victims from Libya, admitting that this was the first time he met people who had fought in a war. Describing them as “our brothers”, he said they either had their stomachs or heads “opened”.
“What do I do? Face God and say, shall I take this person? Or should I not because there are people in corridors in the emergency department?”
He then spoke about the young boy with a head injury, saying the odds were against him.
He said those who were criticising had probably not met these patients one-to-one as he had.
Dr Cassar promised that the health of the Maltese was not being placed in jeopardy. He pointed out that the emergency unit and the ITU have two separate entrances, so Labour’s claim that people were waiting in the emergency department because of the Libyans was false.
He was very worried about those who were being made to wait in corridors outside the emergency unit but this had nothing to do with the Libyans who were either in ITU or recovering at St James Hospital.
In its reaction, the Labour Party referred to Dr Gonzi’s question about whether he should reduce electricity prices or allow cataract operations.
“This is nothing but an admission of incompetence and failure... When this same Prime Minister had the choice between cataract operations and a weekly increase of €500 for his ministers, Dr Gonzi chose the pay rise.”
Instead of spending millions to reduce bills and carry out operations, Dr Gonzi was spending millions on his and his ministers’ salaries, a bridge to nowhere, a new Parliament and a roofless theatre.
“A Labour government will give, by right, medical care of the best kind and timely operations, while seeing that people and businesses do not pay for inefficiency, corruption and wrong decisions through exaggerated water and electricity bills.”