High patient numbers at Mater Dei Hospital have continued to persist in the past days, with the hospital operating at “above normal” activity levels, Times of Malta has learnt.
Despite this, hospital CEO Ivan Falzon is convinced that the number could soon return to normal as temperatures start to rise and stabilise.
In recent weeks, the government confirmed to the newspaper that the hospital was operating “very close to full capacity”. While in recent years the cold winter months have often led to an influx in the number of patients at the hospital, the problem was even worse this year as aside from the seasonal influenza there was also an outbreak of the potentially deadly swine flu.
In comments to Times of Malta, the CEO noted that despite the increase in numbers, the hospital did not have to reschedule any surgeries.
Dedicated team ready to go the extra mile when asked
“We managed to retain elective activity thus avoiding patient inconvenience when scheduled interventions are postponed. All this couldn’t have been achieved without the input of a dedicated team of professionals ready to go the extra mile when asked,” the CEO noted.
In recent years, the winter months have been the busiest for the health system, with the hospital dealing with greater influxes of patients suffering from the seasonal influenza.
Fears have also been raised by sources in the medical sector that an ageing population coupled with an increase in the number of foreigners moving to the island could prove to be problematic for the entire health system, expressing concerns there might soon not be enough beds in hospitals and centres to treat all patients.
Asked about this recently, Health Minister Chris Fearne told Times of Malta that once the plans to build a new outpatients department came to fruition, there would be more beds available.
Asked whether the government had any immediate plans to address the issue, in light of the fact that the past two winters had already resulted in hospitals being jam-packed, Mr Fearne insisted that works on the new department would commence this year. He did not say when these would be completed.