The salesman involved in a scam at Mater Dei Hospital deceived vulnerable patients by posing as a doctor, according to the preliminary internal inquiry ordered by the Health Ministry.
The same person’s name comes up in the testimony of several patients, who give an account of how he introduced himself as a consultant doctor and even possessed an official hospital ID card confirming his position.
The Sunday Times last week revealed that police were investigating a scam in which a nurse and a salesman allegedly swindled vulnerable patients out of hundreds of euros by offering wound therapy not provided by the state and, in certain cases, leading them to believe it was free.
When contacted, Health Minister Joe Cassar confirmed the ministry had handed the report over to police for further investigation and a formal inquiry is under way.
“The ministry’s policy is crystal clear: abusing patients’ vulnerability is absolutely unacceptable and action will be taken against those who commit such abuse,” Dr Cassar said.
Under the scam, patients, mostly amputees, were encouraged to use VAC therapy to speed up the healing of deep wounds and then faced bills of up to €1,000, which also included nursing fees.
Receipts seen by this newspaper shows how patients were being charged €100 for nursing services provided by the implicated nurse (his name appears on the invoice) while he was employed by the state hospital, which provides free healthcare.
The nurse in question holds a managerial position at Mater Dei and chairs a committee of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses.
In a statement last week, the MUMN had denied that the man can be considered as a senior official within the union – saying he “only chairs one of its committees” – as well as declaring that no nurse, directly or indirectly, made any gains from this scam.
The inquiry report, however, makes it clear the nurse’s alleged involvement in this racket is “unacceptable” and warrants “severe disciplinary action”.
It adds: “The involvement of nurses giving out invoices to patients should be completely prohibited, since this is not part of their duty and ethically they should not be involved in such money issues.”
Concern is also expressed at how the salesman, whose “credentials are dubious” was “allowed to break protocol” when he was given a permanent hospital ID card even though he was not a Mater Dei employee.
According to Mater Dei policy, all medical representatives can obtain a temporary card from the hospital’s reception but this must be returned once they leave the building.
The report recommends an assessment of how identification cards are issued for those who did not work at Mater Dei, as the very fact the salesman had such a card made patients think he was part of the institution.
A 74-year-old patient, who spoke to The Sunday Times on condition of anonymity, said: “The salesman introduced himself as a consultant. I knew his father and was certain he didn’t have any children who were doctors, but at the time I didn’t give it much thought.”
The patient, who had undergone heart surgery, was readmitted to hospital last March after he developed a serious infection. No amount of antibiotics helped, which was when he was told the VAC therapy would speed up the healing process.
However, the three available VAC units, which were being used as a sample for a pending tender, had been taken up, so the salesman informed him he would have to pay.
“I was upset that those using the units on trial were getting the service for free, while I had to pay. But I was in a pretty desperate state,” he said, insisting vulnerable patients should be protected, not abused.
Another patient, a 73-year-old man, was advised to use this healing therapy by his real consultant, and he was still undecided when the salesman told him all that was required was three to four days’ treatment, which he could afford.
However, the report shows how the pensioner was misled because the therapy lasted for 14 days and he was slapped with a bill amounting to more than €700. He ended up paying two instalments of €50 directly to the salesman and no receipt was issued.
In another case, the daughter of a 77-year-old man recounts that when this therapy was recommended she felt “the nurses on the wards wanted to be paid for applying the VAC machine”. However, nobody ever mentioned payment in this instance, according to the report.
Despite this, she was given an invoice by a nurse, but she cannot recall who it was. She paid the salesman directly and in full while her father was still in hospital, but never received a receipt. The report concludes that from the interviews conducted it seems not all patients were in a position to decide about the treatment and were misled, resulting in costs “way beyond their reach”.