TMID Editorial: Health sector under pressure
It has come as no surprise that the government has opened a call for expressions of interest for private clinics to assist in emergency services.The call was initially opened until 19 July, but apparently this gave little time for interested parties
It has come as no surprise that the government has opened a call for expressions of interest for private clinics to assist in emergency services.
The call was initially opened until 19 July, but apparently this gave little time for interested parties to come up with their own plans, and the government later extended it to 26 July.
The impression one is getting is that this is a last-ditch, desperate attempt to make up for all the wrong decisions that the Labour government has taken in the health sector since it took over the reins of the country.
For this it is being criticised by the Nationalist Party. It all shows that the government has no plan, the PN charged. It’s clear that the government has failed in its health policies and is now trying to make up for its shortcomings.
The extension of the deadline came soon after the government was also lambasted – not only by the PN, but also by the Medical Association of Malta – for giving the impression that a new 40-bed ward had been opened at Mater Dei Hospital. This “new ward” happens to be a canteen that was converted to be used as a ward at a time when preparations were being made for the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. This was supposed to be a temporary measure, but which has now become permanent. But it’s “fake news” – to quote MAM – to say that his was a “new ward”.
The health sector is one of the areas that is suffering greatly from overcrowding – the hospital has remained the size it was in 2007 when it was first opened, and yet the population has since then increased from just over 400,000 that year to 563,000 at the end of 2023 – a staggering 40 per cent rise.
The economic model favoured by the Labour government first under Joseph Muscat and later under Robert Abela is for imported labour – but this is having severe consequences on the country’s infrastructure. It’s not only in health that Malta is suffering – we can see it in environmental issues, the heavy traffic, education and in other matters that affect our daily lives. The government has been told to change the economic model by none other than the Finance Minister himself, but so far there are no indications that it is listening.
We have now come to the point that to be able to meet with the demand, the government is resorting to the private sector for assistance. After denying that the problem existed, it has now realised that it has no other option but to rope in private clinics and hospitals to help out. While this is, in itself, not a bad thing, it is the haphazard way in which the idea has been launched that raises many questions.
The government will need to explain how things will work. Otherwise, it will be just a case of history repeating itself. In their statement to raise concern about how the system will work out, the Malta College of Family Doctors and Association of Private Family Doctors said what the government is planning now is a “resurrection of a failed similar initiative of 15 years ago”, which was issued for the same reason – the lengthening of waiting times at the Mater Dei Emergency Department.
The situation is worse today, the two organisations said, both because of the population increase and also because we have an aging population. So the system, when put into place, must function in a much more organised and structured way.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
