Gozitan Man Died In Hospital After Being Ignored For A Whole Day, Opposition Leader Claims
Opposition leader Adrian Delia has demanded that responsibility be shouldered over the recent death of a Gozitan man at the Gozo General Hospital.
Michael Tabone, 54, was rushed to the Gozitan hospital with a facial infection earlier this month but died within 24 hours, a case which is now subject to a magisterial inquiry.
Addressing a political rally in Mġarr, Gozo today, Delia read out a brief letter by Tabone’s relatives, who said that he was left waiting at the emergency department without any treatment or attention for a whole day.
“The infection spread through his blood and he was dead within 24 hours,” Delia said, as he took the occasion to lambast the privatisation of the Gozitan hospital – initially to Vitals Global Healthcare and later to Steward Healthcare.
“This is what Gozo’s health sector has been reduced to in the so-called best of times,” he said. “This is what happens when a government sells hospitals to people without a jot of medical experience and allow them, against all regulations, to sell their contract to people of their choice.”
“It was clear from the start that this was never a capital investment intended to provide better treatment to Gozitan patients but rather a malign contact that allowed a few people to get rich off the backs of Gozitan patients.”
“We demand a serious investigation to establish who was responsible for this man’s death. How many more Gozitan lives must be lost before Joseph Muscat starts taking their healthcare seriously?”
Cover photo: Left: Opposition leader Adrian Delia, Right: Michael Tabone
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