Joseph Caruana.

Political interference at Mater Dei Hospital has over the years weakened the management and rendered it ineffective, according to chief executive Joseph Caruana.

Mr Caruana told the Times of Malta that he had no say on strategic decisions because these have always been taken by the Health Ministry.

Interviewed in the wake of John Dalli’s critical hospital report, Mr Caruana said: 

“Whenever I had clashes with unions under both governments and tried to stand my ground, especially on issues of patient safety, some of the unions bypassed Mater Dei management and went further up, be it the ministry, the minister or the Prime Minister until in some way they achieved what they wanted.”

Management also had no say on key matters like human resources, finance, information technology and procurement.

See interview and an analysis of John Dalli's report in the Times of Malta, the e-paper oe timesofmalta.com Premium.