Government healthcare workers have had a surprise meeting with a director of the company which will run the new Gozo general hospital and the revamped St Luke's and Karin Grech hospitals.
Ram Tumuluri, a Pakistani-born Canadian citizen, explained how the Vitalis Global Healthcare Group will build and run for the next 30 years the Gozo general hospital and new medical facilities at St Luke’s and Karen Grech hospitals.
Health Minister Konrad Mizzi introduced Mr Tumuluri as “the new owner of the Gozo hospital” and one of the main investors behind the Vitalis Global Healthcare group.
The workers were not given any further details about the other investors and what experience they had in similar healthcare projects overseas.
Last June, the government started negotiations with the Vitalis Group as the preferred bidder for a €200 million private public partnership in health.
The contract had not yet been signed but talks are at an advanced stage and the commercial terms and key principles have been agreed, the ministry said.
“Unions and workers have been involved in the discussions, as has management, which will stay the same after the process is finalised,” a spokeswoman said.
Meetings with trade unions were held on their request to address HR concerns. “We have confirmed that employees will remain employed by government.”
While three of the four unions involved had agreed to the key principles, talks were still underway with the doctors’ union and the positions were closer following a meeting held yesterday.
Sources said Mr Tumuluri told the workers his group had agreed on a 30-year concession with the government to build and run a new public hospital in Gozo and to transform St Luke’s and Karen Grech into new medical facilities.
He told staff that structural work on the new facilities would start in a few weeks’ time and all the facilities would be up and running within two years.
No value of the investment was mentioned during the meeting.
Mr Tumuluri assured workers they would keep the positions they occupy at present.
According to the sources, he also gave an assurance that none of their benefits and conditions would be touched.
Vitalis Global Healthcare Ltd was registered as a company in Malta last May. It is fully owned by Bluestone Investments Malta Ltd, which is owned by Bluestone Special Situation Limited registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Apart from Mr Tumuluri, the companies all name Mark Edward Pawley, a British former banker and financial controller based in Singapore.
According to preliminary information given in Parliament on the PPP, the investors will be responsible for the running of the facilities and the government will buy their services to be used by the public healthcare system.