Steward found pending bills and missing management accounts upon start of operations – government sources

Julian Bonnici Steward Health Care System found a number of outstanding bills and missing management accounts on taking over the operations of Vitals Global Healthcare, government sources have told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

This newsroom has been informed that Steward has verified these bills and brought its management accounts up to date, with the new concessionaire now believed to have settled into its operations.

Sources also explained that Barts Medical School, which infamously suffered from a number of delays under VGH’s stewardship, appears to be making significant strides, with the first floor now completed and a pro- jected completion date of March 2019. The Anatomy School, which forms part of Barts, will be completed next month.

This newsroom has also been informed that, under Steward, Gozo General Hospital will have employed all the required doctors and specialists by 15 August, with seven consultants currently in the pipeline.

Last January, sources had told the newsroom that VGH had sold its 30-year concession for the three state hospitals and Barts Medical School after experiencing significant financial difficulties, despite repeated assurances that funds would be injected into the company.

The government had provided the company, which was entrusted with the provision of health care services through the

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Gozo, Karin Grech and St Luke’s hospitals, with over €40 million in salaries, medicines, and other items over the last 21 months.

Shortly after the conclusion of the sale, Opposition Leader Adrian Delia filed a court case against the government and Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH), asking for the contract to be cancelled and the three hospitals to be returned to the public.