12-hour wait at Mater Dei emergency department an anomaly, says CEO Ivan Falzon

The Accident and Emergency Department at Mater Dei experienced severely long waiting hours over the weekend, specifically Friday, with a number of patients waiting over eight hours to receive initial assessment with a physician and over 12 hours to be admitted into a ward, The Malta Independent can reveal.

During the investigation this newsroom encountered an elderly woman, 92, who was first admitted at 6.30pm on Friday was only seen by a doctor at 2.30am after hours waiting in a bed in the corridor and was finally admitted into a ward at 5.30am. Such conditions could only result in a worrying and potentially dangerous wait for treatment.

As pictures show a number of people were also seen to be waiting on beds in the department’s corridors as they waited for treatment.

Ivan Falzon, CEO of Mater Dei, told The Malta Independent that whilst this should never be the case, last Friday’s situation was an anomaly. He went on to say it was also important to note that the emergency department receives the highest demand in January.

“Although under pressure, the hospital performed well compared to previous years. These achievements are only possible thanks to the dedication to patient care and flexibility of our healthcare professionals who continue to put patient safety first irrespective of the pressures faced,” he said.

It must be said that most national health services across Europe are struggling with the increase in demand, with the UK’s A&E Department under particular stress at the moment.

When asked as to why the hospital does not prepare sufficiently in advance to prepare for the increase in the demand, Mr Falzon did admit that there was still “more that [they] could do”. However, he maintained that the hospital’s challenges are large and complex, and they are doing everything to ensure that waiting times are kept to a reasonable level.

“Mater Dei Hospital in conjunction with the Ministry is in a constant drive to improve services being offered to the general public, not only at A&E but across the health system,” he said as he pointed towards the fact that hospital has increased the floor space of the department by a third.

He went on to say that during his tenure as CEO, waiting times have drastically decreased and that the number of beds found within corridors are at an all-time low.

Mr Falzon also said that 92.5% (211) of patients had their first medical contact within four hours and 66% of the 79 patients that were admitted from A&E on Sunday got a bed within the target of two hours, the remaining 34% between 2-5 hours.

This newsroom is yet to receive the figures from Friday and Saturday.

Doctors and nurses who were on duty attributed the long waiting times to the department being understaffed, the investigation revealed. However, Mr Falzon said that this could not be farther away from the truth.

In fact, he said, the number of nurses, doctors and emergency ambulance responders has actually increased, and that the hospital has created a number of specialised positions within the emergency department in order to better cater to the needs of the patients, pointing towards the introduction of an area which is solely devoted to paediatric emergencies.

The increase in waiting times comes barely two months after Health Minister Chris Fearne launched the Patient’s Charter which states that the ‘acceptable waiting time for initial physician assessment should be maximum four hours, and the acceptable time to transfer to in-patient bed should be maximum eight hours.

Whilst it was said that the charter would only be fully implemented by November 2017, it seems that the department has a long way to go to reach the standard the ministry wishes to reach.

It was only in February 2015 when the Health Division announced that it had introduced a tracking system in the Accident and Emergency Department which would set a maximum waiting time of six hours.

In real terms, when a European hospital declares a six-hour waiting time in the A&E Department, it implies that six hours would be the actual time period from when a person enters the department’s waiting room till the patient is transferred to a bed in a ward. This period would also include the initial assessment by A&E staff.

When asked as to how Mater Dei aims to become more efficient, Mr Falzon said that “we need to work towards rebuilding the population’s confidence in the capabilities of healthcare centres, which he says have improved drastically over the last few years.

For example, he said, most people do not know that a majority of healthcare centres are now equipped with X-ray machines.

Mater Dei has an escalation plan in place and this was used over the last month, Mr Falzon said.

He also said that there have been vast improvements between January 2015 and January 2016

He also spoke of plans to open up an area on the 6th floor which will be solely dedicated to mothers and children.

There are also plans to open an out-patient centre across from the mortuary, this he said would prevent an overload in the emergency department.