Watch: ‘The People Are Angry’: Adrian Delia Calls For Political Responsibility Over Stephen Mangion’s Death
Shadow Health Minister Adrian Delia has insisted responsibility must be shouldered over the shocking death of Stephen Mangion, who died at Mater Dei’s emergency room while complaining of chest pains.
“Rather than being given immediate aid and treated with emergency, Stephen Mangion was made to wait for hours and the tragic consequence was that he lost his life,” Delia told a press conference alongside PN MP Ian Vassallo.
“It’s heartbreaking and makes you angry.”
“Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela’s reaction was to publish a Facebook post stating that he understands the grief and disappointment of his loved ones.”
“The people are angry and sad and rightly so. His family aren’t just angry. They are broken and hurt after losing a loved one.”
“People want answers and I expected the Minister to give a press conference but he just published a FB post, which gives rise to questions.”
Delia said that while an ongoing magisterial inquiry will establish any criminal responsibility, he also expects political responsibility to be shouldered.
He said he has long been warning the government that the emergency department is “in a state of emergency” but Abela played down his concerns and accused him of scaremongering.
“I spent years fighting to get our hospitals back and the government kept on defending criminals. We have long been warning that the economic model which has seen the population grow by 100,000 in ten years doesn’t work.”
“This is a government without a plan. It did nothing and planned nothing. As the population grew, the need for basic services increased, but the government didn’t invest in education, infrastructure, energy and healthcare.”
“A few days ago, I asked whether we’re waiting for someone to die before things start changing, and this is what happened. They took everything from us. They took quality of life, the future of our youths, our identity and now our health too.”
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