MAM and government reach agreement over Steward concession
The Medical Association of Malta (MAM) and the health ministry yesterday signed an agreement over the public-private partnership (PPP) with Steward Healthcare.
MAM and the government signed two separate agreements yesterday, one regulating the work conditions for doctors working under the Steward-run hospitals and the other regulating all future PPP arrangements.
Controversy surrounding the issue started in 2016, when the government announced that it had awarded Vitals Global Healthcare – which had no experience in the medical sector, and whose investors were unknown – responsibility for the the running of three public hospitals: St Luke’s, Karen Grech and Gozo General Hospital. The concession was to last 30 years; however, just shy of two years later, it became known that Vitals had sold off the concession for an undisclosed fee to US-based Steward Healthcare, which runs several hospitals in the US.
MAM, apart from being highly critical of the Vitals deal due to the government forking out millions for little to nothing in return, called a strike when the news of Steward became known. According to a sectoral agreement between MAM and the government, the latter had to seek the former’s consent before allowing the concession to be transferred to Steward, a third party.
Yesterday, MAM president Martin Balzan said that all doctors working at the three hospitals would remain on the state payroll and all recruitments handled by the government, while it was guaranteed that all Maltese citizens would continue to receive free health care.
It has also been guaranteed that any future PPP will continue to have its doctors employed by the government and not the private investor.
Health Minister Chris Fearne also said that agreement had been reached over underpayment of doctors who worked on public holidays over the past two years. Fearne said the government had completed its verifications and would be paying the doctors the sum owed to them.
Asked by the press about the MAM’s U-turn following its criticism of the PPP deal, Balzan said that he would have rather the government had taken a different route. He added that in the current circumstances, clearer and more robust wording in the agreements had guaranteed that patient care would always come first, doctors would continue to be regulated by the state and, lastly, that any vague wording about specific issues in previous agreements had been addressed by wording less open to interpretation on both sides.
In a statement, Steward Health Care Malta welcomed the signing of a co-operation agreement between the Government of Malta and the Medical Association of Malta.
Commenting on the signing, Dr Nadine Delicata, COO of Steward Malta reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to working with all stakeholders across Malta and Gozo in order to ensure highquality medical care is consistently delivered to the public.
“Steward has a long-established reputation as a high-quality, trustworthy health care provider, led by physicians who have worked in hospital environments and who truly understand what providing quality care means. This agreement marks the continuation of a strong relationship with doctors across the health care system in Malta, which we hope will lead to sustained growth and development of professionals working within our hospitals in Malta and Gozo,” stated Dr Delicata.
Steward Health Care Malta will continue to work with all unions and stakeholders in the coming weeks and months, to further foster a culture of openness and transparency for all professionals working at Steward Malta hospitals.
This agreement marks the continuation of a strong relationship with doctors across the health care system in Malta, which we hope will lead to sustained growth and development of professionals working within our hospitals in Malta and Gozo