As many ordinary people continue to fret about the level of service they are experiencing in the public health system financed by their taxes, more worrying news emerges about how the system is being mismanaged.
The ministry of health is considering scrapping the Paola Regional Health Hub contract because of the contractor’s failure to abide by its obligations.
The Paola Health Centre is a critically important element for upgrading the service level standards of the public health network in the context of the immense pressures exerted on the Mater Dei Hospital emergency, outpatient and inpatient services.
Earlier this year, the government is reported to have commissioned a consultancy firm to report whether it is advisable to withdraw the contract awarded to Technoline and its partner, the Italian firm Ergon.
The consultants have recommended legal action against the contractors but this has not yet been done.
It is worrying that although the construction work has been completed, the contractor has allegedly missed as many as 17 deadlines in recent months, most linked to certification and quality control.
Despite Prime Minister Robert Abela and Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela inaugurating the project before the June MEP elections, the much-needed health hub is not operational.
This saga of mismanagement in the public health systems raises several questions that must be answered. As more details on this project emerge, the public has a right to know the answers to some crucial questions.
What is the relationship between the government and the lead contractor of this project? What are the connections between the role of the lead contractor in the health hub project and the VGH/Steward botched hospitals project?
Why has the government not accepted the recommendation of the consultants he commissioned to report on the health hub contract and sued the contractors?
What responsibilities did the government project manager, the former health minister Chris Fearne’s chief canvasser have?
How will the €40 million EU-funded project first announced in 2015 affect relations with the EU, given the delays experienced in delivering the project?
The tax-paying public has the right to know how its money is being spent and, at the same time, demand that the quality of health services be upgraded to a more acceptable level.
The medical professionals in our public health system are doing their best to keep the system going. Still, they need all the necessary support to satisfy the reasonable demands of patients.
The long waiting lists for medical interventions, the equally long lists for particular outpatient consultations, the pressures on the emergency department, and the overcrowding of hospital wards must be addressed by a more professional approach.
The Paola Regional Health Hub project is tainted with clear evidence of mismanagement from its earliest stages. The project contract was initially granted to a consortium of Bonnici Brothers, Ray Vella and Pantalesco.
Other bidders appealed against the original decision. The adjudication board ordered that the bids be re-evaluated, with the Department of Contracts reversing its original decision and awarding the project to the Ergon-Technoline consortium.
Valuable time was wasted due to incompetence and mismanagement of a critically important process meant to improve the health services for ordinary people. The project management issues must be addressed through proper investigations, management and financial audits, and deliberations at the arbitration tribunal.
However, the government’s priority must now be to speed up the completion of the project to ease pressure on Mater Dei Hospital and the health centres.
We simply cannot compromise on the health service.