Opposition health spokesman Claudio Grech this morning raised questions on the PPP which the government had said it has reached for extra operations to be performed at Mater Dei Hospital.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Grech said this was really a public private partnership, but an agreement between a government-owned company - Medical Plus -  and a company run by government-employed orthopaedic surgeons - Malta Orthopaedic Consultancy Services. This was a one-year contract which provided for 150 operations, mostly hip and knee replacements and established the rates of payment.

Mr Grech said that quite apart from the fact that there was a waiting list of 5,000 for such operations, it appeared that this arrangement had not been well received by the medical community at large.

The issue was the fact that the existing collective agreement already provided for extra operations and the rates for them.  

Thus, while at first glance, this initiative appeared positive, why had the government not used the collective agreement mechanism for these extra operations? He feared that the new contract, which was not a PPP but an agreement by the govern with its own workers, was made to bypass the provisions of the collective agreement. Some consultants who did not work in the same sector, saw an element of discrimination in that some consultants would be paid higher rates than laid down in the collective agreement for extra operations. 

In other comments on the Budget, Mr Grech said that the government was promoting the creation of private sector pockets which would ease the pressure on hospital services, but there should not be competition between the private and public sectors.

He regretted that the Budget placed too much emphasis on Mater Dei hospital when a greater focus should be placed on development other services, particularly primary healthcare, to ease the pressure on the hospital.

He said not enough progress had been made on reducing hospital overcrowding. The long-term solution, he said, was not in the building of a new section with more beds but improving services outside the hospital.

Nothing was also said about Karin Grech Hospital and rehabilitation services.