Mater Dei Hospital

Mater Dei Hospital in Msida, Malta, opened his door for the first time on 29 June 2007. Mater Dei, the new national general hospital of Malta.

History

The idea for a new hospital hospital was first conceived in 1990 (17 years before it's official opening), when it was decided to build a specialised hospital of 480 beds to complement St Luke's Hospital, which was also to be modernised. In the original plans, the hospital was to be specialised in diabetes, cardiology, degenerative diseases and other chronic illnesses prevalent in Malta and other Mediterranean countries. It was to be managed by the Monte Tabor foundation which runs a chain of San Raffaele Hospitals in various countries in the world, offering, free of charge, specialised health care. The Foundation for Medical Services was set up in December 1990 and eventually design work started in 1993 by Ortesa Spa. The foundations for this hospital were laid in 1995 by Skanska.

When the Malta Labour Party came to power in 1996, the concept of a small hospital for specialisation changed to a 1,000-bed general acute hospital which would replace St Luke's completely.

In 1998, after the newly re-elected Nationalist (Partit Nazzjonalista) government took over, the project was reevaluated and plans were redimensioned to 825 beds. The final decision was that the new hospital would became the Malta's principal general hospital while incorporating elements of specialisation, research and learning.

The contract for the building of Mater Dei Hospital was signed between the Maltese government and Skanska Malta JV on 29 February 2000. An amendment agreement signed in April 2005 provided that the hospital should be completed and pass into the hands of government by July 2007, including phases of work which previously were to be completed by 2010.

Meanwhile, this seemingly linear progression has been laced with several corruption allegations and at least one court case resulting in a conviction. So dramatic was its lifespan, that at one point, the project was wrested away from the health minister himself, Dr Louis Deguara, and taken under the direct control of the prime minister.

Even after that, a number of incidents kept this hospital in the general psyche, the latest probably being the flooding incidents of the first week of June 2007 (in which the Maltese were first treated to images which suggested semi-Biblical scenes of flooding only to be told later that they were fairly minor).

The Cost

Much of debate has, of courase, arisen from the project's spiralling costs. Total investment on Mater Dei is estimated to have reached the sum of Lm250 million (more then 582 million euro), including Lm30 million (about 70 million euro) on VAT. This includes not only the cost of around Lm145 million (about 338 million euro) on the building contract and design with Skanska Malta JV, but also Lm27 million (about 63 million euro) on medical equipment, Lm10 million (about 23 million euro) on IT systems, Lm6 million (about 14 million euro) on furniture, Lm2 million (€4,658,747) for the expropriation of the land and other amounts on a number of ancillary contracts.

Such a huge expense - which former prime minister, now president Edward Fenech Adami admitted sent shivers down his spine - was bound to fuel large amounts of controversary. In truth, while there seems no doubt that Mater Dei is a huge improvement on the grey and crumbling St Luke's hospital, many have raised questions as to the wisdom of building a new public hospital at a time when free healthcare the world over is facing crisis. Others have wondered whether money spent on building the new state-of-art hospital could have been better spent on upgrading targeted health units.

Other Issues

Still others have pointed out the enormous difficulties in administration the new hospital will present, especially with the current shortage of human resources. Other issues that have been raised include the hospital's expensive running costs (a staggering Lm4 million a month) and the need for a broader reform of the healthcare system, such as tackling the issue of doctors' postgraduate training to stem the current brain drain and the spiraling costs of medicines. They point out that the hospital might accelerate the demise of the national health system - which it has been built to sustain - and that guaranteeing the sustainability of the national health system will become the focus of Malta's healthcare challenge in the future.

Some of these issues are already in the process of being tackled, says Chris Scicluna from the hospital's PR and Communications Unit. He points out that besides the hospital's obvious benefits such as its state-of-art equipment, it will include new wards which were not present at St Luke's, such as the new Cardiac Medical Unit. Other wards will include features which did not ecsist at St Luke's such as the Special Care Baby Unit.

Mr Scicluna also points out that the human resources problem is being addressed through a recuitment drive, with a total of 49 vacant positions amounting to 418 posts being advertised between February 1 and April 10, 2007. These include 110 staff nurses, 56 clerks/receptionists, 43 health assistants, 38 senior house officers, 31 deputy nursing officers, 17 pharmacists, 17 physiotherapists and midwives.

Facts about Mater Dei Hospital

• The complex takes up 250,000 sq metres, three times the size of the land on which St Luke's Hospital is built.
• There are 825 beds and 25 operating theatres - almost double the number at Luke's - including those for specialisations such as ophthalmology and five theatres fo day care surgery.
• In Mater Dei there are 1,600 different pieces of medical equipment which, in their respective quantities, amount to a quarter of a million pieces spread in 6,700 rooms. In total there are 7,156 rooms.
• The hospital is built around a typical Maltese village design, with a chapel at the centre and various services surrounding it.
• Time at Mater Dei is uniform. 116 clocks around the hospital are synchronized with one central clock.
• Wards take a maximum of four patients in each room (or two or one) with ensuite bathrooms and showers in every room.
• Every patient in Mater Dei Hospital has access to internet, TV, radio and telephone from their own bed. Other facilities include a nurse call system, similar to an intercom system; a CPR button in every room, directly linked to the cardio-pulmonary resusciation team by pager system.
• Patents have possibilty of choosing food from a menu which is provided by a private contractor and distributed in special trolleys. Only three other hospitals in the world use advanced technology in special trolleys