Residents of ‘unfit’ Mount Carmel ward free to leave, health minister says

Updated 9.23pm with PN reaction

People residing in a ward at Mount Carmel, which the mental health commissioner deemed “not fit for purpose”, are free to leave whenever they want, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela said.

Seven patients residing in Male Ward 1B are confined indoors, with nothing to do but roam around the ward, watch TV, eat and smoke cigarettes, according to the Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders.

A relative of a patient residing in the ward described the conditions as a “form of mental torture”.

Speaking to Times of Malta on Tuesday, Abela said that the individuals inside the ward are there due to social problems and not for psychiatric care.

“We’re talking about a ward that is giving refuge to people who would otherwise have problems on the streets. These are not patients. These are not persons who have been committed to a mental institution,” Abela said.

The minister insisted that “these people can move out anytime they want”.

The commissioner also said that all but one patient is there voluntarily.

When pressed as to why these people have not left yet, Abela said that there are other options for these individuals, but “they feel safer on the premises”.

He added that his ministry, together with the Social Policy Ministry, is working to create more spaces outside Mount Carmel to accommodate people with similar social issues.

Apart from this, Abela did not indicate that his ministry plans to improve the ward’s conditions.

The government began the process of closing down Mount Carmel last year. It plans to close the hospital by 2028 and relocate all psychiatric care to a new unit at Mater Dei Hospital.

A recent study also found that most drug users who are admitted to the psychiatric hospital are seeking help for social problems such as homelessness and unemployment.

"Insensitive"

The Opposition on Thursday evening slammed the health minister's "insensitive words" adding they were "disgusting" and "an obscenity".

In a strongly worded post on Facebook, shadow health minister Adrian Delia, alongside the shadow minister for mental health Ian Vassallo, condemned the minister's statements, saying the government had "thrown away" people's mental health.

"The government has, for years, been stalling the people when it comes to mental health care, breaking every promise it made about a new hospital and improvements in care institutions in this sector," the PN said.

"Instead of working against stigma, the Government uses language that further oppresses those who are most vulnerable. The Minister chose to speak in a disparaging manner about people who are hospitalised in ward MW1B, instead of working to give them a chance at a better future."

The Opposition accused the minister of "ignoring" repeated appeals from various professionals, including the Commissioner for Mental Health, and the PN's request for an urgent parliamentary committee meeting on the matter.

The PN reiterated its proposal that patients who do not require psychiatric treatment are not sent to Mount Carmel, and those who need such medical care are treated in an appropriate setting.