Mater Dei to get 150 new beds, three health centres to open 24/7, PL promises

Mater Dei is set to get 150 additional beds, and three health care centres will start to open 24/7, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Monday.

Addressing a Labour press conference, Abela said preparatory works to “double” Mater Dei’s emergency department have been completed, as the tender has been adjudicated and the contract will be signed in the coming days.

The project will also see the building of a new acute mental health services facility at Mater Dei.

Abela first announced the Mater Dei project in 2024, but the tender has been beset by delays.

Giving a rundown of Labour’s healthcare proposals, Abela said the healthcare centres in Qormi, Gżira and Victoria, Gozo will open 24 hours a day.

Sir Paul Boffa Hospital in Floriana is set to be turned into a national screening centre, and free screening services for various cancers will be extended.

Abela said a new master plan, signed off on by “international experts”, has been drawn up for the St Luke’s, Karin Grech and Gozo hospitals.

Those same three hospitals were meant to benefit from a €200 million investment promised in 2015. This investment never materialised, and a number of former government officials ended up in court over the project.

The prime minister said new wards will be opened at St Luke’s, freeing up space at Mater Dei. Another part of the same hospital will be renovated for dental healthcare services.

St Luke’s Outpatients Centre will meanwhile be turned into a new rehabilitation centre.

Following the completion of the Paola Hub, Abela said the government will now be turning its attention to a new multi-modality clinic in Qawra.

This will reduce pressure on the Mosta healthcare centre, Abela said. The Qawra centre will offer radiology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, mental health and sexual health services.

A new 300-bed hospital at St Vincent de Paule will meanwhile also help take the load off Mater Dei. This new hospital will help elderly patients transition from hospitalisation to returning home.

The prime minister said the government would also strengthen access to free medicines.

Out-of-stock medicines are a thing of the past, he said.

Earlier, he noted that the process has begun for the government to take over responsibility for all medicines currently offered by the Community Chest Fund.

He added that the government gives the fund approximately €40-50 million for these medicines. Means testing to qualify for these free cancer medicines has already been removed, Abela said.

Further investment will be made in equipment at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Hospital. 

This investment will ensure more effective cancer treatments with the least possible impact on patients, Abela said.

The prime minister, meanwhile, also pledged to strengthen IVF laws. He said the number of free IVF cycles will be raised from three to five.