Health Minister Chris Fearne insisted on Friday that the equipment at the physiotherapy department was “good” despite complaints by staff that there was not a single working treadmill there.

Times of Malta reported earlier this week that the physiotherapy department, situated at St Luke’s Hospital and run by Steward Health Care, is in such a bad state that staff there struggled to treat their patients.

Asked about the situation, Mr Fearne insisted with the newspaper that renovation works at the department were in the pipeline and would start soon.

When it was pointed out to him that staff had been promised improvements ever since the US company took over the 30-year government concession to manage three hospitals, Mr Fearne said that the idea behind the PPP was to improve the state of the hospitals.

The building, yes, has to be renovated

He would not say, however, when such works would start.

Mr Fearne also would not say whether he still believed that Steward was “the real thing”, a label he had attributed to the company when it took over from the previous concessionaire, Vitals.

On whether he was concerned about the claims by the physiotherapists that they could not provide the best possible service to their patients, Mr Fearne shrugged off the concerns, insisting that those treated at the department were getting “a very good service”.

“I repeat, patients are getting a very good service. Obviously, the environment and the equipment is important. The equipment there is good. The building, yes, has to be renovated,” the minister went on.

When it was repeatedly pointed out to him that the only treadmill at the department, used for therapy sessions to help patients walk, had not worked for months, Mr Fearne told this newspaper he had “already answered that question” and walked away.

Patients from Mater Dei, and some from Karin Grech wards, are all treated at the physiotherapy department at St Luke’s. While the migration to Mater Dei took place in 2007, the physiotherapy department remained at the old hospital and was first taken over by Vitals, the previous concessionaire, and then Steward.