In 2015, the government entered into a public-private partnership with Vitals Global Healthcare, a little known health management company that later transferred its interests to Steward Healthcare. The Prime Minister sold the privatisation of the management of a new general hospital in Gozo, the rehabilitation of Karin Grech Hospital and the refurbishment of St Luke’s hospital as a way of injecting much-needed investment in the health sector that is under increasing pressure.
There is now more than sufficient evidence that this project was not only misconceived but also the cause of a massive haemorrhage of taxpayers’ money.
The Medical Association of Malta, whose members are the best informed on how this project is evolving, is calling for the government to ‘stop the bleeding’ of taxpayers’ money and admit that this partnership has failed to deliver the results that were promised. MAM president Martin Balzan made some serious allegations about the way this project is being run.
Dr Balzan claims that the Barts Medical School in Gozo was completed at considerable cost to taxpayers.
He argues that the building was apparently built by Steward, resulting in an expense of €35 million for the taxpayer. The estimated cost after excluding the value of the land was actually unlikely to exceed €3 million.
The MAM, understandably, raised the question as to why the National Audit Office has still not expressed an opinion on the way this project was conceived and implemented when there are reasonable doubts that taxpayers are not getting good value for money. The NAO described the MAM’s comments as ‘unfounded’. However, many taxpayers are concerned about the way their money is being spent. They rightly expect to be reassured that no high ranking public officials have lined their pockets as a result of the mismanagement of this project.
The contract underpinning the privatisation of the public hospitals’ management has been shrouded in mystery from the very beginning.
A court has ruled against the publication of the partnership deal, thereby denying the public the opportunity to judge for themselves whether this agreement was signed in their best interest.
The government has indirectly admitted to the failure of this project by deciding to abandon this model for the funding and running of a new outpatients’ block at Mater Dei and a new psychiatric hospital. However, the public is still entitled to a full inquiry on how the partnership with Steward is being run. It also wants reassurances that go beyond the operational effectiveness of the way Steward is running the public hospitals. People want to know how their money was spent and whether there was any abuse of power tainting this project.
The NAO should prioritise their investigations on a risk basis. The amounts of money involved in this critical project make an in-depth investigation a matter of great urgency. If the NAO, as the watchdog of taxpayers’ interests, fails to prioritise this investigation, it would certainly deserve the title of “a failed institution” given to it by the MAM.
No amount of fiscal surpluses can justify the continuation of expensive, mismanaged projects. Good governance standards aim to prevent a haemorrhage of taxpayers’ money.
The government owes it to the public to come clean on the reasons for the failures of the privatisation of the management of public hospitals.