At least eight investigations by the parliamentary ombudsman have been delayed by more than a year after the authorities failed to reply.
The investigations, by the commissioner for health within the ombudsman’s office, are meant to look into sensitive matters that impact patients and medical staff. However, although the investigations were all initiated at least a year ago, they have yet to be formally concluded.
The issue was highlighted in the ombudsman’s annual case notes covering investigations from 2021 that were published earlier this month.
Set up in 1995, the office of the ombudsman is an independent officer of parliament.
Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud and his commissioners look into complaints filed by any citizen against a public entity.
The investigations determine the legal merits of the complaints and seek to address systematic shortcomings or propose changes in government policy.
According to the 2021 case notes, health-related investigations into “discriminatory and unlawful protocols” were never concluded because the entities being investigated did not provide replies to queries.
The ‘ignored’ investigations covered issues impacting patients, including the reimbursement of expenses incurred to purchase medicines not available on the government formulary list; Hepatitis C patients not being refunded for medicines and a request for the refund of expenses incurred for medical treatment abroad.
The health authorities also failed to reply to requests for information for investigations impacting medical staff.
These, the case notes document says, include salary scale discrimination; an “unjust” written warning to a civil servant and an employee who was “indiscriminately” not given an allowance.
The health commissioner also investigated a case regarding “the effect on patients because of actions ordered by unions”.
Industrial directives to this effect by clinicians remain in force, to date. This is “to the detriment of the patients”.
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This is not the first time that the office of the ombudsman has complained of a lack of cooperation from the authorities.
Last year, Times of Malta reported that more than a quarter of reports compiled by the commissioners since 2018 had been “ignored”. Some 27 per cent of recommendations had been ignored. Recommendations made in an average of five per cent of reports were only partially implemented and just over 67 per cent of reports were fully adopted.
The civil authorities have disputed these figures, saying nearly all recommendations were being implemented.
The head of the civil service, Mario Cutajar, and Mifsud have been crossing swords over the issue for several months, with both making public statements about the matter.
In fact, in the latest batch of case reports, Mifsud writes that “public exchanges” about his office showed “a lack of appreciation if not outright ignorance” of the work being carried out by him and his team.
Cutajar has argued that the office of the ombudsman has long been avoiding proposals to introduce new standard operating procedures.