In the early hours of Tuesday, March 11, my son's wife started to suffer from acute abdominal pain and my son drove her to Mater Dei Hospital. They were asked to sit down and wait. In the meantime hospital personnel, holding cups of coffee, walked to and fro, talking, laughing and joking. As two hours had by then passed by, my son approached one of them to inquire as to when his wife would be getting some attention. He was told in no uncertain terms to sit down and wait. Some other people told my son that they had been waiting since 3 a.m. and had got absolutely no attention.

Disgusted with this deliberately-chaotic situation, and since by then the day had dawned, my son and his wife decided to leave the building and contact their GP from home.

These, and others, are the situations which the new government headed by Lawrence Gonzi has to address urgently. There are people in sensitive employment who don't give a damn about the welfare of others and are shirking their responsibilities. It is my firm belief that these people have a hidden agenda to put the government in a bad light.

I appeal to Dr Gonzi, who is a caring and sensitive person, to instruct his new Minister of Health to address this problem urgently. From what I hear this problem has been going on for quite some time.