Mater Dei CEO Ivan Falzon has dismissed concerns that the hospital is rife with crime, after a number of workers were arraigned in court over different offences recently, insisting that all staff undergo “robust due diligence”.

In recent weeks, three people who worked at the State hospital have been taken to court – one accused of personal data leaks, another of being part of a human trafficking ring and a third charged with theft.

Asked by the Times of Malta  whether he was concerned about the situation and if he believed there was a crime problem at the hospital, Mr Falzon said the three people involved were not “actual Mater Dei employees” and were providing a service through third-party providers.

According to the CEO, the hospital’s workforce is of more than 5,000 employees, pointing out that the “big, vast majority of them are dedicated, serious, hardworking individuals”.

“Both government recruitment and contractual engagements are governed by robust due diligence processes. Any incidents reported are the subject of an internal root cause analysis to ascertain that mechanisms in place are reaching their aims,” Mr Falzon said.

Asked whether he feared the hospital’s reputation was at stake, Mr Falzon insisted that would be the case “if the hospital executive, line managers and competent authorities fail to act on reported cases”.

“In all cases we have acted expeditiously,” Mr Falzon said.

“I believe patients realise that the actions of the few will not outweigh the many good that happens in hospital.”