Mount Carmel CEO suspended over massive cost overruns at two clinics

Updated 2.45pm with PN reaction

The CEO of Mount Carmel Hospital has been suspended from her job pending an investigation into alleged mismanagement of public funds.

Sources close to the Health Ministry confirmed that Roseanne Camilleri was suspended over a case that is unrelated to her role at Mount Carmel Hospital, and which happened before, in her previous role as CEO of Primary Health Care.

The investigation follows revelations from an internal fact-finding exercise, which found that during refurbishment works at the Qormi and Birkirkara health centres between 2022 and 2024, costs dramatically skyrocketed due to breaches in public procurement regulations by Primary Health Care, a department within the Health Ministry.

Times of Malta revealed details of that investigation last March.

The Qormi Health Centre's refurbishment, initially estimated at €56,000, ended up costing €1 million, and similar works in Birkirkara went from an estimated €264,000 to nearly half a million euros.

The investigation found that Primary Health Care issued several direct orders to one contractor – GM Developments Ltd – despite the costs requiring an open tender process. 

The contractor even submitted a quotation months before other bids were requested, and his final invoices significantly exceeded both his initial quotes and the allowable limits for direct orders.

Crucially, more than half of the works paid for were not even quoted, with rates set by the contractor without negotiation.

The massive cost overruns were attributed to poor project planning, a lack of a designated project manager, and professional incompetence within the government department.

The issue was initially flagged by a newly appointed financial controller at the Health Ministry who noticed anomalies in payments and invoices, prompting an investigation into whether public officials diligently executed their duties. 

The funding for these projects largely came from the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF), which has strict rules on public procurement compliance, raising concerns about potential blacklisting for future funding.

Camilleri denies wrongdoing

Roseanne Camilleri denies wrongdoing on her side.

Speaking to Times of Malta in March, she defended herself by blaming the chief financial officer (CFO) and other officials under her wing for breaching public procurement rules and for mismanagement.

She insisted she was under the impression that the works were awarded through a tender process and that she was not involved in the procurement process. Furthermore, she claimed to have signed the invoices after the financial controller assured her that everything was in order.

Camilleri was appointed CEO of Primary Health Care in 2017 and was reassigned from that role to Mount Carmel Hospital in August last year.

It remains unclear whether the ministry referred the case to the police and questions sent by Times of Malta remained unanswered.

In a statement, the PN accused the prime minister and finance minister of "reckless squandering" of funds in the public health sector. 

"While hundreds of patients wait in queues for treatment or languish on endless waiting lists, while thousands are forced to pay out of pocket for medicines, and many are begging for medical services, this government continues to allow blatant and uncontrolled waste," it said.