The PN has raised questions on the process under way to privatise the Gozo hospital and called on the government to be transparent.

Gozo shadow minister Chris Said said that while the government had announced the start of negotiations with Vitalis Global Healthcare as the preferred bidder, the hospital’s 900 employees were being kept in the dark about their future. He said there was a lot of uncertainty about the future of the public health service in Gozo, as the government was not giving out any information.

Unlike Malta, where private healthcare was available, the government hospital was the only place that provided a health service in Gozo and uncertainty was rife, he said.“Joseph Muscat should practice what he preaches and tell Gozitans about the future public healthcare system under private management.”

Health shadow minister Claudette Buttigieg said that while the government was conducting talks with Vitalis, it had now transpired the group, based in Singapore, was still looking for investors to join in the Malta project. She said the situation did not bode well for the future of Gozitan health care.