Mount Carmel Hospital has made headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past months. But how does the mental health hospital actually function, and what is it like in there? 

We spoke to professionals in the sector to help answer 10 key questions about the facility.

1. How many people are there at Mount Carmel Hospital?

At any one time there are approximately 400 patients ranging in ages, nationalities and reasons for having been admitted. Sometimes, children younger than 12 years of age are admitted to the hospital.

2. Are foreign nationals charged for the services?

Foreign nationals from outside the European Union are charged for their stay at Mount Carmel Hospital. But what happens if they cannot pay? In that case, they are either sent back to their country, or else the hospital's finance division tries to reach an agreement. Most of the time those agreements are not honoured by the patient.

Asylum seekers who are waiting for their applications to be processed and anyone granted humanitarian protection do not pay for services.

3. Is the hospital divided into wards? Are patients put into isolation?

Yes, there are many different wards at the hospital. When a patient is first admitted they are placed in a mixed admissions ward until it is decided how long they will be a resident there.

Mount Carmel Hospital has a ward specialised in intellectual disability, one for elderly patients, female wards, male wards, a drug dependancy unit and a maximum security unit. Adolescent residents are housed inside a youth protection unit.

There is also an isolation unit where a patient is placed if he or she is aggressive to others or is self-harming. The unit is kept under constant supervision.

4. How are patients admitted to Mount Carmel Hospital?

A person cannot just show up at the hospital and be admitted. If they feel they need mental health treatment, they must first visit their doctor or local health centre. A medical professional will then refer them to Mount Carmel Hospital. This is called voluntary admission.

There is also involuntary admission, when a person is sent to the hospital against their will.

A responsible carer must file an application for involuntary admission. That person is generally the next-of-kin, though there are exceptions - for instance, a husband and wife who are in the process of splitting up. 

A specialist will then see the person to confirm the assessment and application. If they deem it to be legitimate, the person is held under observation for ten days.

There is no specialised hospital team for helping people at the point of crisis before they are admitted to Mount Carmel. 

5. What is a typical day in MCH like?

Residents must wake up at 7am - this is not optional, so forget long lie-ins! 

Lunch comes early at 11am, with dinner at some time between 5 and 6pm. 

During the day, residents have therapy sessions and are given the opportunity to practice activities such as yoga, occupational therapy or learning how to cook. 

Smokers can indulge their habit in designated smoking spots. 

6. What is the longest time a patient has stayed at Mount Carmel Hospital?

There are patients who have been at the hospital for over 40 years. These patients are generally elderly and abandoned by their families. Though they are fit to live in society, they continue to live there as they have nowhere else to go, since homes for the elderly are full.

7. What rights does a patient have?

This depends on how the patient is admitted. If the patient is involuntarily admitted under the Mental Health Act, then under certain circumstances they may receive treatment without their consent.

One thing all patients are forbidden from having - a mobile phone. 

8. What is electro-convulsive therapy?

Electro-convulsive therapy is an invasive procedure where the patient is put under general anaesthesia and electrical currents are passed through their brain. This triggers a seizure.

This type of treatment is especially invasive. Two specialists must sign off on it before it can be carried out. 

9. What rights does a nurse have?

Staff are trained in non-violent ways of tackling a patient, but in reality there are times when a nurse has to physically restrain a patient who turns aggressive.

Nurses may sedate patients if their psychiatrist has already prescribed them sedatives on an 'if needed' basis. 

10. How is a patient discharged?

A patient must be certified as being safe to function in society before they can be discharged. This also applies to patients who enter the hospital voluntarily.  

Mount Carmel Hospital also have rehabilitation wards which serve as a sort of 'halfway' house. Here, patients who have not yet been discharged can live in a non-psychiatric setting.

Rebekah Cilia is an engineer studying journalism at the University of Malta's Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences.