Public health professionals have expressed "deep concern" about the "current strain" on the healthcare resources across the island.
Times of Malta has reported that Mater Dei’s emergency department went into overdrive on Thursday, with nurses from wards and even St Luke’s Hospital asked to help as services are stretched in the aftermath of a week-long heatwave.
The heatwave was coupled with a series of power cuts lasting days at a time in some places, leaving people struggling to cool themselves in the stifling heat.
On Friday, the Malta Association of Public Health Medicine commended healthcare professionals, including junior doctors and nurses, who were temporarily redeployed to help in the situation.
This crisis - caused by a combination of the heatwave and ongoing power cuts - "was not unforeseeable", the association said in a statement.
"Climate change experts have warned it is possible that heatwaves will keep on coming more frequently and at higher intensities. Coupled with the population increase, this will put more strain on Malta's critical infrastructure," it said.
"According to Malta’s National Energy and Climate Plan 2021 to 2030, Enemalta developed an Operator Security Plan with the overall goal of ensuring a reliable supply of energy and drawing up contingency plans. According to the plan, Enemalta carried out a National Risk Assessment which includes national hazards. These recent developments put the implementation of this plan into question."
The association added that given the population growth and climate change trends, the country needed a well-resourced plan to assess and improve the capacity of all its critical infrastructure.
"Transportation is already an ongoing daily national problem. We've now added electricity and health to the mix. In the near future, other sectors that are vital for day-to-day safety and living, and which are dependent on the failing critical infrastructure, may become affected.
"We have already witnessed minor issues in water supplies. How well-equipped are we with dealing with these issues? We need to prepare for and mitigate the consequences of climate change and population growth by working on all areas including health, energy, the built and natural environment, transportation and social welfare. We cannot only focus on economic growth at the cost of health and well-being."
The statement was signed by MAPHM president Sascha Reiff and secretary Alexia Bezzina on behalf of Tanya Melillo, Maya Podesta, Kathleen England, Mariella Borg Buontempo, Sandra Buttigieg, Kenneth Grech, Miriam Dalmas, Tania Cardona and Charmaine Zahra, who also form part of the association's executive committee.