Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526110
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 SEPTEMBER 2024 The health system needs fixing Editorial THE death of police officer Stephen Mangion in the waiting room outside the triage clinic at Mater Dei Hospital's emergency is cruel because he was me- tres away from the care he required. According to several accounts, Stephen first went to the Floriana health centre complaining of severe chest pain. For some reason, the doctors at the health centre instructed him to go to Mater Dei Hospital and while waiting to be seen by the triage team – the first step that determines the severity of the medical condition – he collapsed and died. No words can console Stephen's family and friends. Here was a man who felt something was wrong with his health and sought medical assis- tance. From the information available thus far it appears that Stephen did not receive any treat- ment because he was kept waiting and waiting. Something somewhere went wrong. The Health Ministry did the right thing to im- mediately set up an independent inquiry led by retired judge JD Camilleri. Minister Jo Etienne Abela's commitment to full transparency is also welcome. This inquiry board is expected to focus on the treatment Stephen received but will also exam- ine broader systemic issues within the healthcare service. This leader hopes the inquiry will be thorough in its exercise to uncover the truth and will en- deavour to put its finger on any failures that may have contributed to Stephen's death and estab- lish who could have been responsible for them. This inquiry is distinct from the duty magis- trate's inquiry, led by Magistrate Joe Mifsud, which is tasked to establish criminal responsibil- ity if this is the case. A glaring issue, which the independent inquiry board could shed light on is the adequacy of care afforded at health centres. The health authori- ties periodically organise educational campaigns to encourage people to first visit regional health centres rather than hog Mater Dei's emergency if they feel sick. But if patients fail to receive adequate diagnosis and care at the health centres and after spend- ing hours there are eventually sent to hospital, where they end up waiting in another intermi- nable queue, people will obviously choose to go directly to hospital. Unfortunately, Stephen appears to have acqui- esced to the advice and visited the health centre first before being sent to hospital. It may have been a fatal decision but one that he should not have been making on his own. From a layman's point of view, Stephen's case suggests not enough attention was given to his condition at the health centre, so much so that he was not even taken to hospital by ambulance. Whether this was the result of negligence or mis- diagnosis is for the inquiry to establish. But the issue goes much further than Stephen's particular circumstances and we hope that if there are gaps in the services offered by health centres these should be identified and solutions proposed. Stephen's incident comes on top of several com- plaints on the public health service over the past months. From lengthy waiting times at hospital emergency to screening and treatment appoint- ments given months into the future, the public health service has been struggling to cope. The demand has grown, the bed space for in-patients is limited and doctors may be intransigent when it comes to changing work practices. But the problems besetting the public health service have only been made worse by the de- layed investments in public health infrastructure. We do not say this flippantly, but the lack of sig- nificant investment was the result of the corrupt Vitals hospitals deal, which siphoned off millions of euros and on which government had been banking on for increased bed space and services. It may be premature to conclude that corrup- tion killed Stephen since the facts have not been independently verified yet. But it is plausible to say that corruption is a primary cause of many problems besetting the public healthcare system and which have been accumulating over the past years. The delay in opening the Paola regional health hub despite works being completed is a case in point. This leader hopes that the independent inquiry into Stephen's death and the magisterial inquiry leave no stone unturned in determining the truth. If anyone is to blame for his death, justice should be served. And if the failings are systemic because the procedures and protocols in place are inad- equate, these should be changed irrespective of any resistance unions may put up. But at a political level, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela must work harder to ensure ade- quate and prompt investment is carried out in the public health infrastructure. The country urgent- ly needs to move beyond plans and get cracking. In the words of Stephen's niece, we are witness- ing "a failed system that needs to change." Ste- phen's death should serve as a wakeup call. Quote of the Week "Only a comprehensive inquiry can ensure that justice is served and that the necessary lessons are learned to prevent similar tragedies in the future." The family of murder victim Nicolette Ghirxi calling for an independent inquiry that is broad in scope and which will determine whether the State fulfilled its obligations to prevent her death and protect her life. Ghirxi was murdered by her former partner. MaltaToday 10 years ago 31 August 2014 Café Premier shareholder denies graft claims A shareholder in Cities Entertainment Ltd, the company the government paid €4.2 million to buy back its 65-year-lease on Valletta's Café Premier, has denied allegations of 'commis- sions' having been paid to secure the deal. Mario Camilleri, a property entrepreneur whose company, M&A Investments, was a shareholder in Cities Entertainment, categori- cally denied that €210,000 paid out to his com- pany from the €4.2 million payment, had been a "commission" for having secured the deal with government consultant John Sciberras. Camilleri was said to have agreed the €210,000 as a "commission" for brokering the deal with Sciberras, by his former busi- ness partner Neville Curmi during a police investigation into an MP's suggestions that commissions could have been paid to secure the"bailout". The company had been called on to pay over €200,000 in lease payments it owed to the government in December 2012. Cities Entertainment contested the order in court. After Labour's election victory in 2013, Cities Entertainmeċnt and the Lands Department dropped court action against each other, and proceeded to negotiate the €4.2 million settlement for the company to rescind the lease, and pay back all outstanding state dues and its private debts. Accusations that the company was in finan- cial difficulty and had benefited from govern- ment largesse, were amplified this week when shadow home affairs minister Jason Azzopardi alleged that the 'bailout' had a "whiff of corrup- tion" about it.