TMID Editorial: Mater Dei
The situation at Mater Dei Hospital is worrying to say the least.The news that a man died while waiting in the A&E department is beyond shocking.An inquiry has been launched to look into the matter, but responsibility absolutely must be carried.B
The situation at Mater Dei Hospital is worrying to say the least.
The news that a man died while waiting in the A&E department is beyond shocking.
An inquiry has been launched to look into the matter, but responsibility absolutely must be carried.
Beyond that, are the concerns raised about Mater Dei Hospital's A&E Department.
The Malta Independent on Sunday carried two stories about the situation at the A&E department in its issue last week. The main thrust of both articles is that there is an understaffing issue in the department, and that is a major problem. Anyone with a serious medical emergency goes through that department after all.
In one article, without speaking about the merits of the aforementioned case, Medical Association of Malta (MAM) Martin Balzan highlighted that there are not enough "casualty" doctors in the department to cope with the country's increasing demand.
This is an unacceptable and dangerous situation. Casualty doctors work in the hospital department where people, who are hurt in accidents or suddenly become ill go for urgent treatment, and are trained specially to deal with such incidents. The authorities must take action now to solve this understaffing problem.
Balzan said that the MAM has spent the past year working with the Health Ministry to create both financial and non-financial incentives that would attract more people to the job. "And if no Maltese candidates show interest, we will need to hire foreigners if necessary," Balzan said. Such plans must be implemented quickly.
Balzan also said that there is a shortage of other medical professionals, another issue that must be tackled with urgency.
In another article, this newsroom also spoke to a medical professional, who wished to remain anonymous, who described the situation at the Mater Dei Emergency Department as "dire" with overworked medical professionals having to decide which patient in need of urgent medical attention is treated first due to understaffing issues.
When asked if this demand was due to the population growth, a failure to plan for the population growth or both, the medical professional said: "So, the rising population was an inevitability, we all saw it coming. It's happening all over the world, not just in Malta. But while all of the Emergency departments in the world are in a crisis, it is particularly acute in Malta since Mater Dei has the only Emergency department on the island that offers free public healthcare."
"I think there was most certainly a lack of forward planning. While we're trying to make ends meet in the Emergency department since we lack the resources to deal with this rising population, the government is trying to solve the problem now. I think we're just adding band-aids to a situation that should have been addressed at least 10 to 20 years ago."
The professional also said that in the Emergency department staff over-fatigue is rife. "People get so burnt out and overloaded that they can't cope with it anymore. There are staff that end up spending many hours away from family at a time when they're trying to cope with every aspect of their life. I don't blame them for leaving. We end up losing senior staff every year; the crucial staff that we're meant to be safeguarding in our department."
The whole situation shows a lack of planning ahead by the authorities. Why has it been allowed to reach this situation to begin with? If medical staff in that department are burning out, then it is quite obvious that the situation is already beyond the red line.
It also brings to the fore just how important funding for healthcare in Malta is, and how funds wasted in the now annulled hospitals deal are having an impact on Malta's healthcare system. Patients are suffering, and so are the medical staff themselves.
The government needs to fix this situation with urgency.
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