The company that manages three major hospitals in Malta has dismissed claims that it will no longer run the Gozo General Hospital from next month. 

On Thursday, Nationalist MP Chris Said claimed that Steward Health Care was leaving Gozo by the end of the month, describing it as "a victory for the Gozitans and the PN."

However, on Friday Steward Health Care Malta rebutted the claims, saying they were "purely speculative".

"As is common knowledge, Steward Health Care Malta has been engaged in active discussions with the government over the past months and discussions are still ongoing.

"Steward Malta reiterates its commitment to all three hospitals under its responsibility – Gozo General Hospital, Karin Grech Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital – for the benefit of its patients, staff and the communities that it serves."

In 2017, Steward Malta had bought out Vitals Global Healthcare, the company controversially awarded the concession to manage the three hospitals when Konrad Mizzi served as health minister.

The government is believed to be seeking a way to take back the three hospitals, but divergences remain, according to sources. 

Last June, Times of Malta reported that a group of doctors employed by US-based Steward Health Care, the parent company of the firm that manages the hospitals here, gained control of the company. 

The two companies announced that the doctor-led group had reached an agreement to buy the share held by Cerberus Capital Management, a New York-based private equity firm that bought into Steward Health Care in 2010.