Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning that a plane which was due to bring more Libyan patients to Malta on Monday did not come here because the patients needed intensive care, and Malta had no space for them at the Mater Dei Hospital ITU.
Speaking at the Times to Debate conference on the situation in Libya, Dr Gonzi said Malta would continue to do what it could to help the people of Libya.
"We however have limits, Our ITU is full, we cannot take patients who have ITU requirements but we can take others," Dr Gonzi said.
He confirmed that the Red Cross had asked to set up a field hospital in Malta, and Malta accepted.
The Libyan Ambassador to Malta said he could confirm that Malta was doing whatever it could.
"We do not want Malta to overstretch itself because we want Malta to provide quality support," he said.
Mater Dei is currently providing care to eight Libyans who were critically wounded in Libya.
Mark von Brockdorff suggested that a section of the former Bruce Hospital at Mtarfa could be used to provide medical facilities for injured Libyans.
Frozen Libyan assets in Malta could be put to work for this purpose.
Dr Gonzi said an option under consideration was to use parts of St Luke's and of St Philip's if an agreement was reached. But one should not oversimplify the issue. Patients who needed intensive or specialised care could not be sent anywhere other than the ITU or a dedicated and equipped ward.
"We can take hundreds with minor injuries but we are being asked to provide support which cannot be provided in Libya and the level of care is of the highest level which requires best surgeons, nurses and treatment.
"We are in constant contact with highest authorities in Libya. They indicate to us a list of patients and tell us their requirements. We then tell them what we can provide and make arrangements for these people to come over."
The main issue, he said, was not funding, although funding was important. There were €377 million in Libyan funds frozen in Malta, of which €87 million were allegedly owned by Gaddafi family. A large portion of those funds were not liquid, but assets. This was Libyan money, property of the Libyan people. Touching that money depended on the NTC.
Mohammed Sayeh, an NTC official responsible for transport, said Libya had already put aside over €500 million for those who were injured.
John Micallef Morana for the Malta Red Cross, said that the field hospital which the Red Cross may set up would be independent from government and will be solely run by the Red Cross. It could cater for more than 500 patients, but negotiations on the hospital's setting up were still at an early stage.