A midwifery service offered to new mothers by community care provider HealthMark will no longer be provided as of next month, the Times of Malta has learnt.

Sources said the government and the community care provider, which took over from MMDNA last month, were recently in talks about the termination of the HealthMark service offered to new mothers.

A similar post-natal service is being offered by Mater Dei Hospital and has been up and running since April of last year and, as a result, mothers were receiving the same service twice, the sources said.

Midwives visit new mothers at home the day after they leave hospital to check up on both the mother and baby and offer any support or advice that may be required.

The company has a contract with the government to provide free community care in the home to patients identified by the government’s CommCare Assessment Unit as requiring medical assistance.

A spokesman for HealthMark Group confirmed that the post-natal service offered by the company would be halted at the end of the year on the instructions from the government.

Midwives working with the community care provider would be given alternative employment within the company, the spokesman said.

HealthMark Group took over from long-serving care provider MMDNA last month. The company was established in 1985 and offers both home care services – such as assisting with cooking, cleaning, shopping, personal care and other tasks – and general nursing services.