The Malta Independent on Sunday
Long-term master plan for Mount Carmel Hospital not yet drawn up
● Tender for topographic survey issued
Rebekah Cilia A long-term master plan for Mount Carmel Hospital has not yet been drawn up, according to a tender issued last week.
The tender notes that the overall objective of the contract will be part of the “formulation of a master plan for Mount Carmel Hospital.”
It also notes that “as part of the process for the drawing up of a master plan for the facility, MCH needs to engage a service provider to prepare an extension to an existing topographic survey that will form the basis on which master planning will be carried out.”
According to the hospital’s chief executive, Stephen Sultana, a ‘comprehensive’ master plan for the entire hospital was drafted in 2017. He noted that it is expected to take around five years to refurbish the entire complex ward by ward.
When asked if this was the same master plan as the one referred to in the tender, a spokesperson for the Ministry for Health said that this was in reference to an operational plan addressing actions and interventions required in the short to medium term.
The spokesperson noted that these works were currently on-going. Minister for Health Chris Fearne has also recently noted that the five-year plan for the restoration of the hospital is on track.
The tender issued recently refers to a longterm master plan for the entire complex and site, the ministry said.
The tender for a topological survey at Mount Carmel Hospital also provides an image of the site boundary. The yellow markers on the image indicate the area which has already been surveyed, while the red line indicates the complete site boundary.
When asked to clarify if the site boundary is being extended and if the fields indicated are also to form part of the new building, the ministry replied: “The site indicated is designated to the health ministry by the Lands Department and the master plan will therefore take into account the entire site.”
Mount Carmel Hospital has made headlines over the years for its generally poor state, unsafe wards, staff issues and lack of security, among others, which have prompted several directives to be issued.
A new psychiatric hospital has been promised for a number of years but Minister Fearne said recently that the new mental health hospital adjacent to Mater Dei Hospital would not be up and running before 2025.
When asked why this acute psychiatric hospital had taken so long to materialise, given that it had also been promised by previous administrations, the ministry did not reply.
It has confirmed, however, that the medical brief for the new hospital has been drawn up and the land near Mater Dei Hospital has been transferred from the Lands Department to the Ministry for Health.
It has been reported that access to this new hospital will be through Mater Dei Hospital.
The Mental Health Strategy 2020 to 2030 notes that Mount Carmel Hospital will be repurposed as a psycho-geriatric care facility, shifting its function to an institution housing ageing patients requiring specialised mental care.
Consequently, its present function would be taken over by a new hospital planned to be constructed adjacent to Mater Dei Hospital.