Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1530259
LAST week, The Sunday Times published an interesting arti- cle written by Ian Baldacchino, a specialist in family medicine, about the many components of our health infrastructure that exist in substandard buildings and facilities while St Luke's Hospital is rotting slowly away, unused and abandoned. The number of health-related facilities that survive while being offered in dilapidated buildings is astounding. In his article, Bal- dacchino counts about 10 such facilities. All lack someone to co-ordinate their renewal. The Department of Health tries to cope with its current problems, without thinking of rehabilitating the premises occupied by these facilities and without a sensible long-term plan. While agreeing completely with what Baldacchino wrote, I think that the current state of St Luke's Hospital deserves an even bigger condemnation. It is the political class that is to be condemned, of course. The two Gonzi adminis- trations knew beforehand that St Luke's was to be vacated but did nothing regarding its future use. Joseph Muscat's administration dreamt of a rehabilitated hospital as part of the Vitals/Stewards deal and used for medical tourism. Everybody knows how this dream turned into a nightmare. Mater Dei was opened in 2007 and St Luke's has been left to rot, abandoned for all of 17 years. One can hardly imagine what happens when a building is left abandoned for so long. The cost of this waste will be borne, of course, by the public while the politicians who caused it will never be punished for their irresponsibility. It is obvious that our investment in health facilities is being made by fits and starts. A new cancer facili- ty – Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre – was built near Mater Dei. A large health centre was built in Paola. Named after former health minister Vincent Moran, who died in 2017, the centre was planned to cater for around 130,000 patients thus relieving Mater Dei of some of the pressures it has to face. It is not just a coincidence that Pao- la is part of the electoral district that former health minister Chris Fearne contests. It is obvious that a holistic plan for health services does not exist. Every time a new health minister is appointed, the plans for specif- ic facilities of the previous minis- ter are replaced by new plans for some new facility while what we already have is left to rot. It is by now obvious that Malta needs a long-term holistic plan for health facilities and their sup- porting administration. Such a plan must have the support of the party in Opposition to ensure that a change in administration does not lead to a change in priorities, besides the frequent changes that are somehow related to the elec- toral districts from which the suc- cessive health ministers are elect- ed. It is normal that such plans need to be updated as time goes by, but the most important aspect is that such plans are not altered accord- ing to the whims of the minister responsible for health at the time. Malta invests millions of euros in its health infrastructure and in its medical services offered to every citizen free of charge. In this as- pect, Malta is far advanced when compared to other countries. It is a pity that this is achieved in spite of the absence of a long-term plan that would, in the end, lead to the decrease of the current health spending per capita. Meanwhile, the buildings that once housed St Luke's Hospital are being left to rot as if this exist- ing infrastructure has no value. But doing something about it is not an electoral issue. Both parties are to blame for this. This why many react by saying that for pol- iticians, personal votes are more important than giving the country what it deserves. Assisted dying On 29 November, British MPs voted in favour of a private mem- bers Bill that allows assisted dying under certain conditions. At pres- ent, laws throughout the UK pre- vent people from asking for med- ical help to die. 330 British MPs voted in favour with 275 against. The proposal put forward by a female Labour backbencher – Kim Leadbeater – is intended to set out the safeguards that would govern assisted dying for the ter- minally ill. The Bill – called the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – would make it legal for over-18s who are terminally ill to be given assistance to end their own life. But there are conditions: They must be residentS of England and Wales and be registered with a GP for at least 12 months; they must have the mental capacity to make the choice and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and in- formed wish, free from coercion or pressure; they must be expect- ed to die within six months; they must make two separate declara- tions, witnessed and signed (by them or a proxy on their behalf), about their wish to die; and two independent doctors must be sat- isfied the person is eligible with at least seven days between the doc- tors' assessments. A High Court judge must al- so hear from at least one of the doctors and can also question the dying person, or anyone else they consider appropriate. There must be a further 14 days after the judge has made the ruling, although this can be shortened to 48 hours in some circumstances. The Bill is in its early stages and nobody knows how many amend- ments will be proposed to it and whether it will eventually become law. A commentary published under the name Bagehot in a recent is- sue of The Economist pointed out that when the current British Prime Minister was born in 1962, the Lord chamberlain censored plays, abortion was outlawed and divorce permitted only rarely be- yond cases of adultery. Gay sex was a criminal act. Eventually, the commentary pointed out, 'in- dividual liberties triumphed over collective moral prohibitions. My rights beat your qualms.' Except for abortion, Malta fol- lowed suit, even though the time- line is different. The political observer goes on to explain that both sides of the debate on assisted dying can be considered liberal. It is no longer an issue between the liberal idea of personal autonomy and the Chris- tian idea of a public morality. He quotes Isiah Berlin, a political theorist, who in a 1958 lecture had said there is a contrast between 'negative liberty' or the ability of a person to do as he wished without interference from others and 'pos- itive liberty' that was about the tri- umph of a person's 'higher nature' over his low impulses and outside influence. Interesting, but some would also say confounding. 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 DECEMBER 2024 OPINION Rehabilitating St Luke's Hospital micfal45@gmail.com Michael Falzon The buildings that once housed St Luke's Hospital are being left to rot It is by now obvious that Malta needs a long-term holistic plan for health facilities and their supporting administration. Such a plan must have the support of the party in Opposition to ensure that a change in administration does not lead to a change in priorities.