Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1061063
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 DECEMBER 2018 3 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 A Steward Healthcare spokes- person said that the decision not to airlift the patient was agreed upon with medical staff back in Malta. "These decisions, of whether a patient is transferred immedi- ately or not [to Malta] are taken in conjunction with the Mater Dei Head of Cardiology. For the recent cases, it was agreed that the patients needed to be stabi- lised at the Gozo General Hospi- tal," the spokesperson said. The Armed Forces of Malta, which operate a helicopter ser- vice in emergency medical situ- ations failing the Steward heli- copter's availability, were not informed about the recent two cases. Former army lieutenant-colo- nel Martin Cauchi Inglott, now an MEP candidate for Partit Demokratiku, raised the matter in a Facebook post. "The Armed Forces provided a professional intra-government Gozo-Malta medevac [medi- cal evacuation] service for dec- ades, and today have even better helicopter capabilities for such a service," he said. "I ask why this million-euro contract was out- sourced to the private [sector] when a 24-hour service cannot even be guaranteed." Steward Healthcare has justi- fied the lack of air ambulance service by claiming that the transfer of a patient by ambu- lance via the Gozo Channel ferry was often faster than a helicop- ter conveyance. "There is also an agreement with the Gozo Chan- nel in place that guarantees that a patient is transferred as quickly as possible." When asked why the Gozo General Hospital could not confidently nurse cardiac pa- tients, Steward said that the Gozitan demographic was too small and that in the last three years, the hospital had catered for just a hundred different cases, including childbirth and minor issues. "We have so few patients that doctors can be- come deskilled. We'll never provide certain services be- cause of this reason. We can never run a sustainable ser- vice where the population is so small," the spokesperson said. The Ministry of Health sub- stantiated the statements of Steward Healthcare, saying that not all patients with cardiac is- sues needed imminent transfer by helicopter. "Treatment pro- tocols for different conditions exist – these are established by clinical teams from both the Go- zo General Hospital and Mater Dei according to international best practice and guidelines," a spokesperson for the ministry said. The ministry argued that ever since the new air ambulance started operating, more patients were being transferred "than ever before." It too made a refer- ence to the AFM service that is supposed to function in its stead. "Previously, with solely the AFM service between the two islands, some patients would not even be considered for air transfer but retained at the Gozo General Hospital," the spokes- person said. On 23 August, a Gozitan car- diac patient died on arrival at Mater Dei Hospital after he was unable to be medically evacuat- ed a day earlier due to the Gozo helicopter being unavailable. An inquiry failed to find any fault with the way doctors had as- sessed the patient's condition at the time, and the hospital denied that the helicopter had endured a technical fault. The health ministry played down suggestions that Stew- ard Healthcare, which runs the Gozo General Hospital, was unwilling to pay for the addi- tional AFM helicopter service when its own helicopter is una- vailable for medevacs, saying the number of patients trans- ferred via air to Mater Dei had increased. The ministry also insisted that two Steward Healthcare em- ployees who had reported first the helicopter mishap of 23 August, had not been forcibly transferred out of their roles at GGH, but that they had re- quested these transfers. "At no point was political pressure or interference applied," a minis- try spokesperson said. "Their transfer was treated as any other transfer within the Health Min- istry. Government employees retain the right to transfer and each transfer is treated on a level playing field." 'Ambulance often faster than helicopter' Ever since the new air ambulance started operating, more patients were being transferred than ever before – the ministry