The doctors’ union has given the government a two-week ultimatum to reach an agreement on a wide range of issues, threatening widespread industrial action if their concerns were not addressed.

Announcing the industrial dispute yesterday, the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) said its concerns centred primarily on the privatisation of services at Karin Grech, St Luke’s and Gozo hospitals.

The association expressed fears that the privatisation would put undue pressure on doctors to increase profit margins – to the detriment of patient wellbeing.

Concerns were also raised about understaffing at health centres and Mater Dei Hospital, which is also having to cope with a lack of consultants and a number of cost-cutting measures.

MAM general secretary Martin Balzan said any industrial action would be “effective and widespread”, potentially affecting every health department in Malta and Gozo. He said the privatisation agreement was due to be signed today and the association had been kept in the dark as to its contents.

How can they be expected to go through that excessive bureaucracy with patients suffering in front of them?

“We are not against private investment, but the private sector is ultimately driven by profit,” he said. “People below the poverty line will suffer the most, as they are the least profitable patients and the ones most dependent on public services.”

Although doctors working at the hospitals have been assured their conditions will remain unchanged, the operators will not be bound by the terms of doctors’ collective agreement, according to Dr Balzan.

“Our red line is that a social service run by the government cannot give so much control to the private sector. If the private sector has hire-and-fire powers, there are going to be problems.”

Speaking in Parliament yesterday afternoon, Health Minister Konrad Mizzi said the government would engage the union in dialogue but insisted the privatisation would go through.

He assured the medical staff that they would continue to enjoy the same benefits, and that they would be improved if possible.

Dr Balzan said that in the last few weeks, there had been a drive to cut down on the number of hours worked by doctors in emergency wards, apart from other cost-cutting measures.

“Doctors now need a number of signatures just to work extra hours,” he said. “How can they be expected to go through that excessive bureaucracy with patients suffering in front of them?”

He said the lack of new consultants at the hospital was making it impossible to cope with ever-growing waiting lists in nearly all departments – disputing government claims that waiting lists had been slashed.

Dr Balzan also questioned the new policy exempting new hospitals from Mepa regulatory procedures, pointing to health and safety concerns surrounding medical waste and radiation, among other issues.

“There has to be regulation,” he said. “If the investor is serious, why should he be afraid of Mepa?”

Doctors’ complaints

• Private sector hiring and firing doctors on terms independent of the collective agreement

• Lack of dialogue on the terms of the privatisation agreement

• At least 30 more doctors needed for understaffed health centres

• Lack of new consultants and additional cost-cutting measures at Mater Dei

• Exemption from Mepa regulations for new hospitals