Watch: Malta Needs A Second National Hospital, Health Minister Admits
Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela has said Malta needs a second national hospital to complement Mater Dei.
Interviewed on Andrew Azzopardi’s RTK show yesterday, Abela said he believes this could be built on the area covering St Luke’s, Karin Grech Hospital and the outpatients area.
“I think it has fertile on ground on which we can invest,” he said. “My concept is to create a health village that incorporates a new hospital that responds to the needs of the population.”
Abela clarified that he plans to go for such a project regardless of whether international arbitration attempts to recuperate money from Steward succeed or not.
The Minister also said the government wants to try and rope in the private sector to help deal with emergency care.
“Since the population has increased and Malta is a small country, we must pool all our resources together to deal with the emergency element of healthcare,” he said. “I don’t believe we’re tapping into the private sector enough, and we’re actively working on this. Just as the government pays the private sector to help slash waiting lists, the same principle should apply for emergency.”
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