Government must give written consent for Vitals transfer to Steward Health Care

The transfer of a 30-year concession of three state hospitals to an American private healthcare giant will have to be green-lit by the Maltese government, through written consent.

The matter is most certainly settled after the government announced the sale shortly after news was broken by the press: only 21 months since an unknown healthcare outfit created by a Singaporean equity company was granted the concession, Vitals Global Healthcare is selling off for an undisclosed sum, to Steward Health Care, itself owned by an American equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management.

According to the contract deposited in the House of Representatives, "for three years from the completion date the concessionaire shall not suffer or allow to suffer the transfer, transmission, allotment, assignment or other dispersion... of its shares or shares of its subsidiaries without the express prior written consent of the GOM (government of Malta)."

The completion date is defined as the date a final completion certificate is issued, confirming that the concession milestones were carried out: all of which are laid down in Schedule 6 of the contract as the milestonesfor the completion of the work.

The completion milestones were namely a handover plan, a design plan, the Barts campus at the Gozo hospital, 50 additional beds at Karin Grech Hospital, 80 rehabilitation beds at St Luke’s Hospital, the completion of the new Gozo General Hospital and its renovation, and the completion of St Luke’s medical tourism beds.

The contract presented in the House blacked out the penalties that Vitals was supposed to pay in any event of milestone failure.

A request made to the Health Ministry to be provided with the letter of consent has not been entertained yet.