Mater Dei full-up, PM admits in U-turn

Prime Minister now says Malta cannot provide intensive care to patients from Libya because its ITU is “full”. This comes a few days after a government statement attempted to ridicule a MaltaToday story that reported how Mater Dei was not able to receive foreign patients.

29 September 2011, 12:00am

1 min read

Following the last minute cancellation of a flight which was set to bring around 13 critically injured patients from Libya, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said Malta could not provide more intensive care to foreign patients because the Intensive Therapy Unit at Mater Dei Hospital was “full”.

The Prime Minister appears to have succumbed to MUMN pressure that raised the limited capacity of beds at Mater Dei.

Speaking during a debate organized by The Times, Gonzi said the patients had been diverted to Greece on Monday because Malta could not provide the intensive care. However, Gonzi added that Malta could still cater for non-critical cases.

“We have been doing whatever is possible: nothing more, nothing less,” Gonzi said.

Last week, the Health Minister was quick to deplore a story reported by this news portal. MaltaToday had reported that the arrival of wounded victims from Libya last week had faced hospital staff with a bed shortage, with the result that three Maltese patients had to be moved out of Mater Dei’s ITU because of three Libyans who were in critical condition.

Gonzi also announced the setting up of a field hospital at either St James or St Philips hospital. Red Cross Malta said the field hospital would cater for around 500 patients from Libya. The International Federation of the Red Cross would provide all supplies and volunteers.