MP defends surgeon in abuse allegations

Anton Refalo, the opposition's spokesman for Gozo, said yesterday that a surgeon who performs hernia operations at the Gozo hospital had never charged patients for such treatment and he would be defending him in an inquiry ordered by the Gozo Ministry.

Dr Refalo said when speaking on the adjournment in Parliament that remarks by Labour MP Justyne Caruana had been wrongly interpreted by sections of the media, causing distress to the surgeon and his family.

What was happening in Gozo was the fault of the hospital administration, where the mesh used for operations was not of good quality. The surgeon had rightly advised a patient that he could, if he wished, buy better quality mesh.

Interjecting, Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said it was the opposition which had raised this matter, not the government, and the mesh used at the Gozo Hospital was of the same good quality as that in use at St Luke's Hospital.

Dr Refalo said the ministry should not try to hide its shortcomings behind an inquiry. The patients would be better served if a procurement committee which used to operate at the time of the Labour government was reactivated. The inquiry, if properly conducted, would reveal many shortcomings and "dirt."

Dr Refalo hit out at the Gozo Ministry for not providing staff for the magistrate sitting at the Gozo court. He said the courts could not operate efficiently because they lacked back-up.

Dr Refalo said that even as the economy in Gozo continued to deteriorate, ferry fares were set to rise again next month - by 50 per cent in the case of Gozitans. No one was making use of the new helicopter service. There was no direction or planning in Gozo. The Nationalist government's decision to appoint Anton Tabone as Speaker of the House was a major mistake. What had been achieved in the past by the Gozitans was being lost and the Gozitans had effectively been denied a voice and reduced to second-class citizens.