“A shortage of funds” left the Health Ministry with no option but to continue breaking the law, according to the latest annual Ombudsman report. Health Commissioner Charles Messina, who forms part of the Ombudsman’s Office, spoke of repeated lack of cooperation by the ministry.
He also mentioned two issues, involving “a number of patients”, in which the Health Ministry knew it was in the wrong but persisted because of “a shortage of funds”.
The first case, pending since July 2013, concerned the supply of analogue insulin to Type 2 diabetes patients.
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The other involved the treatment of Hepatitis C patients, where recommendations to supply them with the required medicine were continuously ignored. The ministry finally complied last April.
The Office of the Ombudsman proposed amendments to protocols guiding clinicians with regard to the availability of medicines forming part of the government formulary list. “Yet, this was to no avail,” Mr Messina complained.
He deemed it “preoccupying that the Ombudsman’s Office did not have the authority to see that its decisions were implemented”. The Ombudsman could only make recommendations. It was then up to the department in question to decide whether to abide by the recommendations or refuse them, Mr Messina noted.
“It is within the remit of the Executive to show respect to the Ombudsman and to the commissioners by following the recommendations made,” he said.
He was evidently disappointed with the ministry’s approach vis-a-vis his office.
“More often than not, replies to the first request for comments take ages [to arrive],” he said.
More often than not, replies to the first request for comments take ages
Almost half – 45 per cent – of the cases submitted to the Health Commissioner’s attention last year were still pending, mainly because of this attitude, Mr Messina added.
The Ombudsman Act obliges the Executive to provide information, the Health Commissioner noted, adding this “should not be considered as a mere courtesy”.
The Office of the Ombudsman should not have to resort to the judiciary to obtain information the ministry was legally bound to give.
Mr Messina recommended a time limit within which information should reach the Office of the Ombudsman.
“This office is reluctant to impose tight deadlines, however, it is unacceptable that information requests or follow-up on recommendations take a long time,” Mr Messina said.
The Health Ministry had been asked to provide copies of the agreement with Vitals Global Healthcare regarding the concession to run three State hospitals.
“The ministry only sent redacted copies, which were the same ones tabled in Parliament,” Mr Messina reported.
“Now that VGH has passed on the concession to another company, Steward Health Care, this office is more than ever keen to examine the full texts which Steward Health Care is now bound to honour,” he insisted.
This was not the first time Mr Messina has flagged lack of cooperation from the ministry.
In the 2016 annual report, he referred to what he described as “the great delay” in receiving replies and feedback from the Health Department.
“The commissioner repeatedly commented about this lack of cooperation in his last four annual reports. Notwithstanding this, there has been no progress whatsoever,” Mr Messina had said.