The Health Department said today it is investigating a case where a car parked on the helipad at St Luke's Hospital prevented a landing by the helicopter.

The St Luke's Hospital helipad is being used instead of the one at Mater Dei because of tower cranes close to the latter.

The department said that on Saturday evening, at about 6pm, a helicopter which was conveying a patient from Gozo could not land on the St Luke's Hospital helipad because a car was parked there. A medical team and an ambulance were waiting for the patient.

The car could not be immediately removed and the helicopter returned to Gozo. The car was then removed and the helicopter flew the patient back to Malta some two hours later. The patient was then taken to Mater Dei.

The department said it was taking this case very seriously and disciplinary action would be taken. Those responsible would be suspended and measures would be taken to ensure the incident was not repeated.

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