Stop talking, take action

The Labour administration is just over a month away from concluding the first year of this five-year legislature. Just under a year ago, Joseph Muscat was elected on the basis of what he referred to as a “clear and costed roadmap”.

Yet for all its words, financial projections and electoral slogans, nearly 11 months down the line, it is clear for all to see that Labour has still not found its feet. The Labour government has not yet convinced anyone that it knows how to govern.

On the contrary, Labour’s first year in charge has been characterised by a series of blunders which have put our country’s reputation on the line. From citizenship to healthcare, Labour’s tenure has been replete with knee-jerk reactions. Policy decisions are often modified or withdrawn after heavy criticism both locally and in the international media.

All the while, the social partners, civil society representatives and the public at large wait with bated breath for a sign that Labour is functioning.

Yet despite growing impatience, Labour continues to play for time. Earlier this month the Minister for Health, Godfrey Farrugia, published an article in this paper entitled ‘Our Vision for Gozo’, in which he complained about “the many problems inherited” and the need to bring the Gozo General Hospital “up to 21st century standards and practices”.

The Minister of Health’s article reflects the attitude he is taking in dealing with the daily pressures elsewhere in the sector, including Mater Dei Hospital. This is truly unfortunate since the Nationalist Party has repeatedly claimed that, unlike Labour’s attitude in its years in Opposition, it fully intends to approach the health sector with a bipartisan view.

It is plain for all to see that the sustainability of the health sector, and the need to further strengthen services delivered, all demand a long term approach that can only be achieved by working together. The issues we are facing as a nation in the health sector simply transcend a single legislature. And after all, the last time the Health Minister tried to go it alone, the public across Malta and Gozo was left dumbstruck by the sheer crassness and insensitivity of a makeshift tent pitched outside Mater Dei Hospital, designated as a waiting area for patients.

But back to Gozo. Here again, the Health Minister has plainly shown that he is not really interested in the Opposition’s call for a bipartisan approach. In my opinion, Dr Farrugia’s article is insensitive on two counts.

Almost one year into the legislature, Minister Farrugia must understand he cannot waste any more time on partisan politics and the blame game

First, the Health Minister fails to acknowledge, in any way, the noteworthy investment undertaken by the previous Administration at the Gozo hospital.

Rather, Farrugia wants us to believe the sun rose on March 10, 2013, and that we lived in the Dark Ages before that. I’m sure all those who have given their utmost to take the Gozo hospital forward in recent years really appreciated those comments.

Apart from being insensitive, the Minister of Health is patently incorrect. The reality is that several key investments were undertaken at the Gozo hospital in the past five years. These include the opening of two state-of-the-art operating theatres, marking an investment of €4 million, and a smaller theatre for minor interventions. A Bone Density Unit was also installed within the Imaging Department as part of the €4 million investment, which is part-funded by the European Union, and was officially inaugurated by the new administration in May. And €1.5 million was invested in IT infrastructure connecting the Gozo General Hospital to Mater Dei Hospital, so that patient x-rays could be analysed at Mater Dei Hospital in record time.

Surely this flies in the face of the accusation that Gozo General Hospital was in a state of stagnation. Gozitans who make use of the increased services at this hospital, and Maltese patients who are undergoing certain interventions in Gozo to relieve the pressure on Mater Dei, can surely attest to this progress.

The second problem with the Health Minister’s approach is the fact that he has as yet not delivered on the much vaunted roadmap. Lest we forget, the minister already backtracked this year on one of the key pledges of Labour’s electoral programme: the introduction of full chemotherapy services in Gozo.

For all Labour’s promises of a “costed roadmap”, the Health Minister blamed “lack of funding” for stopping the project in his article earlier this month.

Labour is clearly not delivering.

Almost one year into the legislature, Minister Farrugia must understand that he cannot waste any more time on partisan politics and the blame game. Particularly in the health sector, the Minister of Health requires all hands on deck, and this includes consulting and involving all stakeholders in the field and not burning bridges for cheap partisan games.