Updated Sunday 11.32 am with statements by DaVinci and St Thomas Hospitals below.
Malta private hospitals have criticised a doctors' union decision to slam the brakes on plans to send patients needing emergency treatment at Mater Dei Hospital to private facilities.
The Saint James Hospital Group said it was “counterproductive” to jeopardise the plans at the implementation stage, after a “thorough public procurement process” was completed.
Saint James Hospital is one of three private hospitals roped in to the government plan to outsource some emergency services at the state-run Mater Dei Hospital.
That plan – first announced last year and brought into effect this week – is now in jeopardy after the Medical Union of Malta on Saturday instructed doctors not to refer any Mater Dei patients to private hospitals.
The union cited concerns about “patient safety” and said it was not consulted on the plans, despite the government being contractually obliged to obtain its agreement before implementing any such plans.
Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela responded by saying an “inner circle” within the union was out to settle personal “grudges” even if that meant placing patients at risk.
Saint James: Directives undermine work done
In a statement sent to Times of Malta, Saint James Hospital Group CEO Jean Claude Muscat urged the union and government to sit down and “identify practical and sustainable solutions” to safeguard patient safety.
Muscat acknowledged that the group has a financial interest in the outsourcing going ahead, but emphasised that the appeal was borne out of concern for the “immense pressure on emergency services at Mater Dei”.
The private healthcare group “already operates two successful hospitals, including two busy emergency departments, and hence our appeal is genuinely, and exclusively driven by a commitment to national interest and the need to prioritise patient care above all else,” he said.
The MAM directives “effectively undermine” all efforts made to solve existing problems, he said.
“We must prioritise the national interest and, most importantly, the needs of the thousands of patients relying on emergency services during this challenging time. Mater Dei’s emergency services are clearly facing a critical situation, and it is imperative that all stakeholders focus on practical, patient-centred solutions,” Muscat said.
DaVinci Health: Directives will impact patient care
Another private hospital, DaVinci Health, in a statement on Sunday regretted the directives and their timing and said they would impact patient care.
"The timing of these directives is particularly regrettable, as they halt an initiative designed to alleviate the strain on Mater Dei Hospital during a period of peak demand caused by seasonal illnesses. With A&E waiting times already prolonged and hospital capacity stretched to its limit, these will undoubtedly impact patient care when it is most needed," the hospital said.
"Directives should be used as a last-resort measure. We urge MAM to urgently reconsider its directive and to engage in constructive dialogue with the Ministry for Health and Active Ageing. A swift resolution to this issue is in the best interest of all patients in Malta.
St Thomas Hospital urges quick resolution of the issue
St Thomas Hospital said the current situation was unfortunate for both patients and doctors alike and it urged both sides to maintain open lines of communication to resolve the issue promptly.
It underlined the importance of Public Private Partnerships, pointing out that more than 5,000 patients from the public healthcare system were treated at St Thomas since 2019, easing the burden on Mater Dei Hospital.
"Over the past 48 hours, St Thomas Hospital has treated three patients referred under the recent partnership agreement aimed at freeing up bed space at Mater Dei Hospital for more urgent and complex medical cases. These three patient cases were relatively routine surgical emergencies, but their successful treatment freed up three much-needed beds at Mater Dei Hospital for patients with more serious medical needs. This highlights the tangible, immediate benefits of partnerships between public and private healthcare providers," it said.
"Our experience has shown first hand the significant difference a well-structured public-private partnership (PPP) can make for public healthcare."