Patients needing podiatry interventions at government health centres are having their appointments cancelled or postponed because of problems with the sterilisation of instruments used, the Times of Malta is informed.
Patients complained that when they turned up for their appointment, after waiting for many weeks, they were informed the service could not be provided.
When contacted, as spokeswoman for the Health Ministry said the problem resulted from an ongoing industrial dispute between the employees at the sterilisation department (CSSD) of Mater Dei Hospital and the management.
The dispute is known to have been ongoing for the past four months with no solution yet in sight. Acting on union directives, the staff members within the unit are refusing to sterilise any instruments that are not used at Mater Dei. Podiatry is offered mainly as a primary health care service through the various public clinics across the island, hence the shortage of the instruments.
We cannot understand why these instruments need to go to Gozo and come back – taking a long time – when this can be done in Malta
The Health Ministry spokeswoman said the government was doing it best to resolve the issue.
“At present, meetings between the management of Mater Dei Hospital and the union are in progress to resolve the issue. In the meantime, to minimise disrupting the service to patients, the Prime Health Department is using the CSSD facilities at the Gozo General Hospital,” the spokeswoman said.
Public health officials who approached this newspaper asked why the instruments were being sterilised in Gozo when this could be done in private facilities in Malta, thus reducing considerably the time required for the instrument sterilisation process.
“We cannot understand why these instruments need to go to Gozo and come back – taking a long time – when this can be done in Malta, although at a cost. This will surely save time and avoid further cancelling of appointments,” one of them said.
Questions sent to the Health Ministry on why the alternative sterilisation process was not being handled in Malta, remained unanswered.
The spokeswoman pointed out that the service in Gozo was being provided by Vitals “at no extra cost”.