(Adds PN's reply)

The government members on the Parliamentary health committee said today they had no objection to a debate on the hospital structure situation, requested by the Nationalist Party.

They said in a letter they had no objection to a meeting at the right time once more information was available and as soon as the inquiry was concluded.

The Sunday Times of Malta said last Sunday tests revealed that the concrete structures over Mater Dei’s Emergency Department were so weak in certain areas they could not withstand the weight of two planned medical wards.

On Tuesday, the government said temporary mitigation measures to strengthen the structure were to be taken.

In a statement, PN health spokesman Claudio Grech said that after arriving to its own conclusions, the government was refusing the PN’s request for an urgent debate on the matter.

The Parliamentary committee, he said, could hear all that on which the government based its conclusions and listen to all those, who, in one way or another, had legal, technical or commercial obligations.

Mr Grech said it was a shame that instead of working towards a consensus in the health sector, this government was on the forefront to transform such sensitive issues into partisan politics.

He said the Opposition was continuing to insist on an urgent debate and said that the health and safety of workers and patients should never be put at risk because of a political decision.