Plans for new home for elderly as demand rises

The government is planning a new facility for the elderly close to St Vincent de Paul residence to cope with an increase in demand for geriatric services brought about by an ageing population.

The number of so-called "social cases" - mostly elderly people admitted to St Luke's Hospital and virtually abandoned by their relatives notwithstanding their recovery - is increasing every year.

At a press conference yesterday, Health Minister Louis Deguara indicated that the authorities will have to create 100 new beds each year for the next 10 years.

The government was being pressed to find a solution - both in the short and long term - as social cases were taking up space, overcrowding wards and increasing the pressure on hospital staff.

Dr Deguara said plans for a facility to accommodate around 280 people were submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority while tenders for architectural designs and supplies of services were being prepared.

Having opened the new Jean Antide ward at Mount Carmel Hospital, where other social cases are being accommodated, and having rented out beds in private homes for the elderly, the government estimates it will meet the demand for the next few years when another home is opened in Mellieha.

To solve the problem temporarily, the Health Minister announced that around 100 extra beds would be placed at St Vincent de Paul to accommodate more residents, a measure which the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, the Medical Association of Malta, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin and the General Workers' Union agreed to yesterday morning. The Health Department had agreed to recruit extra staff at St Vincent de Paul, Dr Deguara said.

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly, Helen D'Amato, said it should be made clear that leaving elderly relatives at St Luke's is not a way to have them fast-tracked into St Vincent de Paul, explaining that people are admitted to the home for the elderly according to their needs.

Overcrowding, which usually peaks during the cold winter months, creates a spill over into surgery wards, so more operations have to be postponed due to social cases. In the last two years, however, the number of social cases remained high during the summer months, with such cases occupying 60 to 70 beds on average all the year round.

Only last Wednesday, four social cases were placed in the surgical wards of St Luke's as there was no more room for them elsewhere in the hospital. There are about 84 extra beds at St Luke's at present, with more than 74 being social cases.

In 2005, 163 social cases at St Luke's Hospital filled five extra wards.

The government had started to deal with the problem by renting out beds in the private sector. Yet a recent survey showed there were only 25 beds available in the different residences.