Steward Healthcare is fully bound by the conditions of the original contract between Vitals and the government for the running of state hospitals, once it had fully taken over the concession, Health Minister Chris Fearne told parliament on Wednesday.

Replying to a question by Opposition MP Beppe Fenech Adami on whether there had been progress in talks on contract conditions, Fearne said it was natural that all concessionaires wanted more favourable conditions, but once Steward had fully taken over the Vitals concession, it was fully bound by the contract conditions.  

Changes to the substance of the contract could not be made.

The US healthcare provider is running three state hospitals, Karin Grech, St Luke's and the Gozo General Hospital, as part of a multi-million deal after it took over from the original concession from Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) in 2015.

The €4 billion hospital contract hinged on the promise that the private investors would spend €220 million to completely revamp the health facilities. However, VGH sold the concession to Steward Healthcare after two years.

“We fully expect that the service (by Steward) is provided according to the concession agreement,” Fearne said.

Fearne added that from a health service perspective, the service given to patients at Gozo hospital was very good and had improved over the years.

Referring to various court proceedings currently underway regarding the concession, Fearne said the outcome would be interesting in view of their impact on the government’s relationship with the company.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Robert Abela said talks between the government and Steward Health Care about their concession agreement are at a standstill. 

Stewards is also refusing to pay €36.5 million in unpaid taxes and has taken the tax commissioner to court to resolve the dispute.