A sprawling property that has been described as “ideal” for the elderly lies empty in Gozo while questions mount about the government's decision to rent out a hotel in Victoria to house the elderly residents who have been moved out of Dar Sant'Anna.

Around 80 elderly people were recently relocated to Downtown Hotel, under a deal with the government that did not go out to tender. The arrangements allowed Gozo hospital to move some of its facilities to Dar Sant' Anna, creating space in the wards for potential coronavirus patients.

There have been many complaints about the cramped hotel rooms – most markedly less than four by four metres with two patients in each – as well as relatively narrow corridors and lifts too small for gurneys or wheeled stretchers, have made relatives of patients indignant.

most markedly less than four by four metres

One relative of an elderly resident spoke of her “fury” when she found out how much Downtown was getting from the yearlong contract negotiated with the Ministry for Gozo:  €109.79 per room daily.

Another relative told Times of Malta that some of the frail elderly patients in Downtown were being confined to their beds “all of the time” because the lifter that hoists them from bed to wheelchair does not fit in the rooms.

The Social Care Standards Authority said on Sunday, however, that it had found nothing wrong with the Downtown Hotel being used as an old people's home.

Yet, barely five kilometres away, a two-storey complex that boasts 45 spacious ensuite rooms connected by wide corridors lies vacant.

The modern complex in Għajnsielem – with its expansive grounds and gardens, halls and lounges, underground 32-bay car park with full disabled access – sprawls over an area larger than a football pitch.

It is built on a ridge, bathed in light and greenery, and yet it is only just off the main artery road between Mġarr Harbour and Rabat.

The property, Lourdes Home, was bestowed to the Dominican Sisters in a parliamentary motion on July 27, 2016 against a yearly lease of €500 under condition of use for “exclusive philanthropic and religious purposes”.

It is run by three or four nuns, who host intermittent short-term guests, mostly foreigners in Gozo on cultural or religious tours, charging about €45 per person per day inclusive of meals.

Care industry sources familiar with the interior said it would be “ideal” for the elderly patients.

“Since the government technically owns the land,” a legal source said, “it could have easily set or dictated the terms of an agreement with the Dominican Sisters to house the elderly patients in Lourdes Home.”

The source said that if the government had requested the relocation of the elderly patients to Lourdes Home, the Dominicans would have been under social and moral obligation to accept.

Asked if any homes, including Lourdes Home had been considered, the Gozo ministry said that the hotel “was the best available option due to immediate availability of 80 beds under one roof, and its proximity to the Gozo General Hospital among others”.

Downtown Hotel has 38 rooms according to architectural drawings while Lourdes Home has 45 larger rooms and two flats.

The spokesperson did not reply to the question of which party – whether Downtown or the ministry – initiated what the ministry has described as the “negotiated procedure” that led to the agreement for a year that will see the hotel rake in around €1.6 million.

Downtown is owned by SB Autocentre Ltd, a family-owned dealership of cars and ancillary services represented by Raymond Bajada, and property developer Joseph Portelli. The latter, who originally applied to build the hotel at the turn of the century, currently holds four per cent of shares. The two of them are directors as well as legal and judicial representatives. 

The government is paying Downtown €54.79 per person daily – or €109.58 per room. On top of that, the government also pays the salary of nurses and carers reassigned from the Gozo hospital, as well as meals and medical consumables.

Care industry sources have said that average rates in elderly care homes range between €50 and €80 per person daily inclusive of meals, medical consumables and the entire complement of care and nursing staff.

Lourdes Home

Exploratory talks had been held between the Gozo Ministry and the Dominicans on having Lourdes Home as an elderly care home under a public-private partnership, sources said.

These talks appeared to have been discontinued after the previous minister, Justyne Caruana, resigned last February.

When contacted, Carmelita Borg, Mother Superior of the Dominican Sisters, initially said that the building was still “under construction” and also suggested it might be used for victims of domestic violence and religious retreats.

Yet, there is an adjoining home for domestic violence victims – Dar Ġużeppa Debono, which has nothing to do with Dominicans – and sources say demand is limited in Gozo.

Lourdes Home was originally intended as an orphanage. A childcare centre set within the orphanage was also envisaged in development applications fifteen years ago. 

This newspaper has seen pictures of the interior, showing spacious rooms complete with bedding and furniture, spacious bathrooms and inviting swimming pool.

When it was pointed out to the Mother Superior that the building is complete, she said “part of it is still in process”. Asked about talks with the ministry on a public-private partnership on elderly care, she wrote in an email that “there is no place [sic] for discussion”.

The home, she insisted, is not built for the elderly.

Before the coronavirus outbreak it was being used to accommodate occasional fee-paying groups on cultural or religious tours. It currently lies empty.