Ministry will intervene if Ombudsman is impeded in VGH cases – Chris Fearne
Health Minister Chris Fearne has given the Ombudsman and the Commissioner for Health assurances that should their ability to exercise their jurisdiction over the Public-Private Partnership health service, VGH, be impeded in any way, the ministry will intervene and address the issues.
The minister said there is already an understanding between VGH and the ministry on the subject.
The Ombudsman had earlier told The Malta Independent that current legislation erodes his jurisdiction over the protection of patient and employee rights with regarding to the PPP health service.
The Health Ministry later said that a change in the law was not needed, but the Office of the Ombudsman said its reading of existing legislation “does not seem to tally with the advice of the Attorney General’s office. It is therefore prudent that the issue is examined in depth.”
Speaking to this newsroom, the Health Minister maintained that, as the Attorney General has indicated, current legislation absolutely covers all patients and employees.
He made reference to Legal Notice 250 of 2012 of the Ombudsman Act, Article 2(c), which states: “‘Health service’ means a health service provided by the government, other authority, body or person to whom the Act applies, whether such service is preventive or curative, and includes: (c) a health service as aforesaid which is provided for or on behalf of Government through the private sector.”
“We are still determined to ensure that all the employees and patients of VGH have the same rights,” Mr Fearne said.
The whole issue surrounding the protection of employers and patients’ rights, with regards to VGH, arose when the Ombudsman’s Annual Report 2016 flagged the privatisation of essential services in Malta, namely within the health and energy sectors, as areas of concern that could negatively affect good governance by the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman’s Annual Report noted that it was of his opinion that that his jurisdiction in these areas “was being significantly eroded.”
He said that the entire population of Gozo was being “practically excluded from direct access to the Commissioner of Health when being treated in the now privately owned general hospital.” This, he said, was an “unacceptable situation that improperly discriminates against a section of the population.”
In the health sector, the report says both patients and government employees are “already experiencing a marked diminution of their right of access to the Commissioner for Health and the Ombudsman.”
The Ombudsman had recalled that the Commissioner for Health, who had expressed an inability to conduct his own initiative investigations, had sought assurances from the Ministry for Health that public private partnerships for the provision of essential health services would not prejudice the right of patients and employees within the public health care sector.
But the minister yesterday claimed that, when asked, the Ombudsman and Health Commissioner had confirmed that there were no cases, in relation to VGH, where they felt impeded in any way.
Commissioner for Health
Mr Fearne was also pressed on the statements by Health Commissioner Charles Messina, who wrote in the report that for the fifth consecutive year there was “great delay” in receiving replies and feedback from the Department of Health.
“The Commissioner repeatedly commented about this lack of cooperation, in his last four annual reports; notwithstanding this, there has been no progress whatsoever,” the annual report says
In the cases were a complaint made by a member of the general public or a public health worker was upheld, meaning that the complaint was found to be valid, Health Commissioner Charles Messina found that recommendations were either left in a state of disuse or suspension, or were rejected altogether.
The minister said that the delay exists since there are number of cases which are complex, and deal with the procurement of medicines or protocol. “We need to discuss these issues with the Ombudsman and the specialists. This is not to say we are not responding, but rather everything is an ongoing process.”
“From our side we always make sure that we are doing things in the interests of the people,” he said.
“I want to make it clear that we, as the ministry, have always worked well with the Commissioner for Health, and I hope that we will continue working well in the future,” Minister Fearne insisted.