Updated 5:55pm with PN statement

Prime Minister Robert Abela visited the private Da Vinci Hospital in Birkirkara on Friday, a facility currently providing state healthcare amid an ongoing dispute between the doctors’ union and the government.

In a statement, Abela’s office said his visit had included being shown the hospital’s new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, which was co-funded by the government and European funds.

The PM, accompanied by Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela, “welcomed the private investment the hospital is making to expand its emergency department, which is currently receiving patients from Mater Dei Hospital".

The statement said the investment “reflects the commitment of the private sector to contribute to a more efficient and sustainable health system in our country.”

It added that in discussions with Da Vinci Hospital staff, the Prime Minister had emphasised his government’s commitment to offering funding to enterprises that “contribute to the economic growth and public health of the country.”

Da Vinci Hospital's new MRI scanner was co-funded by the government and the EU. Photo: DOI/Clodagh O'Neil.

The prime minister’s visit comes at a time of heightened tensions between the government and doctors; earlier this month, the doctors' union – the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) – ordered its members to stop transferring patients from Mater Dei to private hospitals because of a bed crisis, citing a lack of consultation.

The orders came just days after the Health Ministry said a €14 million deal to send Mater Dei patients to three private hospitals was coming into effect. The deal is intended to ease overcrowding pressures at Mater Dei.

Government 'hypocrisy'

In a union statement later on Friday on behalf of the union, MAM president Martin Balzan – who passed a confidence vote on Thursday – accused the government of “hypocrisy”.

"There always seems to be abundant funds for outsourcing and private partnerships, yet a persistent reluctance to address the basic needs of doctors working within the public healthcare system,” the statement read.

Balzan said the union’s decision to close health centres was “not taken lightly but is our last resort to address critical systemic challenges in our healthcare system.”

He said the government’s attempt to “bypass” the union’s directives by partnering with private hospitals did “not address the root cause of our protest.”

The MAM president reiterated the union’s calls for improved working conditions, adequate staffing levels and sustainable public healthcare infrastructure, adding it was open to “constructive dialogue”.

'Patients are paying the price'

In a statement on Friday, the PN accused the Prime Minister and his government of ignoring repeated warnings about the "critical state" of the healthcare sector, leaving doctors with "no choice" but to resort to industrial action.

The Opposition said patients were "paying the price" for Abela's "stubbornness" on the issue. 

Commenting on the recent MAM action, the PN said it "does not celebrate industrial action but understands that when doors are repeatedly closed... there is no other path to take."

"Robert Abela and his government have no shame in playing with the health of the Maltese and Gozitan people. They demonstrated this when they committed fraud with the hospitals and are continuing to confirm it today."

The PN said it had proposed several measures to the government, including investing in St Luke's to reduce the burden on Mater Dei, building a new general hospital in Gozo and improving working conditions for medical professionals, among others.