Mater Dei Backlog Reaches New High With Over 1,500 Patients Still Waiting For An Operation
Health Minister Chris Fearne revealed that 1,573 patients are being kept waiting for their operations at Mater Dei while responding to three parliamentary questions made by opposition MP Claudette Buttigieg.
Fearne was answering questions by Buttiġieġ regarding operation waiting lists for specific operations, with many patients waiting beyond the forecast time.
934 are waiting to get a knee replacement, 492 are awaiting a cataract operation and 147 are waiting for hip replacement surgery. A total of 1,573 patients have been waiting longer than the time stipulated by the Patient Charter.
The Patient Charter indicates that in urgent cases where the patient’s health is in imminent danger but with no diagnosis of deterioration of health yet, intervention should start within 12 weeks.
For less urgent cases which don’t endanger the patient’s health, the waiting period is 18 months.
Have you been affected by this backlog?
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