VGH Karin Grech Hospital to take in patients from Mater Dei; ‘minimal impact’ – MAM; PN reacts
There are indeed no new wards and there has been no investment to date in the capacity or infrastructure of KGH
VGH Karin Grech Hospital officials and national healthcare officials are working closely together to help alleviate the pressure on Mater Dei Hospital to accommodate patients with acute illnesses brought about by current cold weather conditions as the state hospital sees a high number of admissions, a VGH statement said.
Dr Stephen Zammit, CEO Of VGH Karin Grech Hospital, explained that, “it is important for all parties to come together in such extraordinary situations to ensure patients across the island continue to receive high quality care and attention. Our main focus is always that of offering high level care to all patients, so following discussions with the Ministry for Health, Mater Dei officials and other stakeholders, and a thorough assessment of all resources available, it was decided that Karin Grech Hospital would step in and extend its services to more patients to meet the current demand.”
Vitals Global Healthcare said it is committed to and engaged in close collaboration with all stakeholders to further improve on the quality of care given to all citizens of Malta and is currently working to recruit additional nurses and carers to be able to meet growing demands.
Dr Zammit explained that despite the dire need for infrastructural improvements, the level of care at Karin Grech Hospital is of a very high level, and that the investment being injected by VGH into the infrastructure, Human Resources, and IT systems will give a new lease of life to the hospital ensuring that Karin Grech Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital continue to play a pivotal role in the local healthcare landscape in the future.
In a statement, the Medical Association of Malta said that according to its sources what VGH is talking about is two extra beds crammed into five of the larger wards to give a total extra 10 bed capacity. There are indeed no new wards and there has been no investment to date in the capacity or infrastructure of KGH despite the additional €4 million provided by the government.
These extra beds have been added during every winter for the last few years, and are regularly reversed at the end of winter.
With a daily intake of around 70 patients per day, at Mater Dei, the impact of this measure will be minimal, MAM said.
In another statement, the Nationalist Party said Mater Dei Hospital is being mismanaged and patients are having to pay the price for the government’s corruption.
It is not news that patients are being sent to Karin Grech Hospital, but this means that the crisis that existed in the health sector has not been resolved.
The truth is, the PN said, that instead of focusing on better services, first Konrad Mizzi and now Chris Fearne were concentrated on selling hospitals to private enterprises in deals that are shady. Contracts were signed for Karin Grech Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital and the Gozo hospital two days before secret companies were opened in Panama.
Now Maltese and Gozitan patients are paying for this with a crisis at Mater Dei, with patients suffering from influenza being kept in wards with other patients.