Gozo Hospital Will Be Taken From Steward And Returned To Public Immediately If PN Elected, Grech Pledges
The Gozo General Hospital will be immediately taken off Steward Healthcare’s hands and returned back to the public if the Nationalist Party is elected into government, leader Bernard Grech has pledged.
Speaking at a press conference in Gozo, Grech said that the PN will also initiate a massive capital project to develop a 400-bed general hospital in Gozo that will provide the best possible care to the island’s residents and visitors.
“I can also guarantee that anyone currently employed with Steward at the GGH will remain employed and will be absorbed into the project,” he said.
Grech also promised to extend substantial cancer treatment to Gozo.
At the start of the press conference, Claudio Grech, who recently announced he would not be taking part in the election, revealed details on the theme of the party’s manifesto for Gozo, stressing that the party is committed to ensuring that the environment and culture of Gozo will be preserved and used as a vehicle for growth.
“Gozo should not be a space for speculation and development just because it has open spaces,” he said.
Bernard Grech did also reference some other proposals for Gozo – namely that a new MCAST campus will be opened on the island, while initiatives will be put in place to better help young people study abroad.
A Malta Enterprise centre, specifically targetting Gozo, will also be set up.
“Gozo must also have direct access to continue growing their operations,” he said.
Steward Healthcare was brought in to save the concession for the Gozo General Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital and Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital from Vitals Global Healthcare, who was forced to sell off their operations just 21 months after starting amid growing financial debt, which stood at €36 million by the end of 2017.
An un-redacted contract revealed that taxpayers were paying VGH around €188,000 a day (€70 million a year) to provide hospital beds to the state, €1.2 million a year for the Barts medical school and a further €1 million for a helicopter service.
The deal has been mired in corruption claims, particularly given that the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding months before a request for proposals was even announced.
Steward’s current president has admonished the deal, highlighting concerns over mismanagement and lack of oversight from Maltese authorities.
Steward Healthcare was brought in to replace VGH, with the company unable to pay its employ. Steward was given certain assurances by the government, namely from Mizzi and Muscat when they were brought in to save the failing concession.
This included a massive €100 million buyout should the concession be rescinded and a secret €8 million bank guarantee (which has since been waived).
The deal has created massive gaps in operations – with Steward staff being paid less than their state counterparts for doing the exact same job. Meanwhile, the government continues to fork out millions for a service that is not too dissimilar from Malta’s national health service.
It was recently revealed that Muscat was paid €60,000 from Accutor AG and Spring X Media, two Swiss companies owned by Pakistani lawyer Wasay Bhatti, in the early months of 2020, shortly after his resignation as Prime Minister.
Matthew Caruana Galizia has claimed that Muscat was initially set to receive a €540,000 contract until a UBS bank closed down the company’s accounts.
Muscat, who has denied all allegations, has seen his house searched by police.
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