Police are investigating a scam at Mater Dei Hospital in which a nurse and a salesman swindled vulnerable patients out of hundreds of euros by offering therapy not provided by the state and leading them to believe it was free.

The patients – mostly amputees recovering at Mater Dei where healthcare is free – were encouraged to use equipment to speed up the healing of deep wounds. They were then charged between €700 and €1,000.

In one case, an elderly man with little money was served with an invoice of over €700 which he could not afford to pay, an inquiry revealed.

The internal inquiry into this racket, commissioned by the Health Ministry last May, has just been completed and the findings were handed over to the Police Commissioner last Friday.

The Sunday Times has learnt this scam involves a nurse who is employed in a managerial position at Mater Dei and occupies a top post within the structures of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses.

The report states that this nurse’s behaviour “is completely unacceptable” and severe disciplinary action should be taken.

When contacted, a spokesman for the Health Minister said the ministry was evaluating what disciplinary action to take.

Meanwhile, the salesman, who was originally employed by a private company that provided this therapy but then set up the same business on his own, was so trusted that patients thought he was a consultant.

During the course of the inquiry, interviews were conducted with a number of families who were ensnared by this highly organised scam, but it has not been established how many patients have been affected.

The ministry ordered the internal investigation after it got wind of the scam last April when a patient turned up with an invoice expecting to be reimbursed for the VAC Therapy – a fairly new technique also known as negative pressure wound therapy – which he received at Mater Dei.

Earlier this year, Mater Dei had started providing this therapy – which is administered using a small piece of equipment that can easily be carried around – on a trial period.

However, it stopped offering this service because the therapy was still being tested and complications arose in the tendering process of the provision of VAC Therapy.

The scam worked smoothly because the salesman continued providing the equipment and the nurse offered the therapy to patients, who were given the impression it was free – or when they asked if there was a charge, they were told “it did not cost much”, the report ­established.

Patients were then handed an exorbitant bill, which even had the temerity to include “nursing ­services”.

The ministry spokesman said the government would not tolerate any form of abuse.

Abusing patients’ vulnerability, she said, was completely ­unacceptable.

The spokesman confirmed the ministry had handed the inquiry report to the police.