Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544097
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 MARCH 2026 OPINION Andrew Azzopardi is a UOM professor who lectures at the Faculty for Social Wellbeing Between promises and lived exchange on Mount Carmel Andrew Azzopardi THE recent email exchange I had with the National Mental Health Services CEO Roseanne Camilleri offers an insight into the ongoing debate about the state of Mount Carmel Hospi- tal. More importantly, it high- lights the distance that still exists between public concern and official reassurance when it comes to mental health ser- vices in Malta. In my correspondence at the end of January of this year, I asked for clarification on issues raised during the parliamenta- ry Health Committee meeting: Building repairs, patient facil- ities, therapy provision, staff numbers, safety concerns and long-promised improvements. Camilleri in her reply de- scribed phased modernisation works, structured programmes and ongoing upgrades. Yet reading through the con- versation there is a deeper sto- ry—one about trust, transpar- ency and the long road towards meaningful reform. The questions I posed reflect public concern and as a broad- caster on Campus 103.7 and academic activist, listening to what people say is of essence. But that is not good enough, it is also about kicking up the system. A checklist of concerns My emails read like a checklist of concerns that have circulat- ed for way too long: The phys- ical condition of many wards, the adequacy of basic ameni- ties for staff and patients, the state of outdoor spaces (or lack of). The availability of therapy and activities for patients are not abstract policy issues, they are daily realities for vulnera- ble people who depend on the system. My questions were specif- ic and grounded. How many wards have been repaired? Are all wards adequately equipped? Are therapy sessions available to every patient? Are enough professionals employed? Are patients meaningfully engaged or simply passing/killing time? Perhaps most telling was the question about duvets, alleged- ly purchased ahead of a media visit. Whether trivial or not, such concerns reflect a deeper suspicion that improvements sometimes happen only when scrutiny is imminent. That suspicion does not arise in a vacuum. Mount Carmel Hospital has long been associated with age- ing infrastructure and delayed reform. For many families, the hospital symbolises a mental health system that has strug- gled to modernise at the pace patients deserve. It is a pity since mental health hospitals are a crucial pillar of any men- tal health service. Roseanne Camilleri's reply at- tempted to address these con- cerns with a tone of reassur- ance and institutional clarity. She outlined a multi-phase modernisation programme for the Young People's Unit, including a therapeutic gar- den, accessibility improve- ments and ward refurbishment scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. She stated that wards are being upgraded and that maintenance programmes are ongoing. She dismissed the duvet claim as unfounded and explained that replacements are part of routine improvements rath- er than preparation for media coverage. She also stated that the hospi- tal provides all essential amen- ities, including yard space, smoking areas, nurse stations, meeting rooms and adequate sanitary facilities while ac- knowledging that infrastruc- ture quality is an ongoing con- cern. I have to note that my infor- mation is very different from that supplied by Camilleri, so much so that a number of wards have been closed. At least three wards—Transition Ward, Ward 8b and Male Ward 2B— were shut in these last months. The questions that matter most are these: Do wards feel safe and dignified? Do patients receive meaning ful therapy? Are outdoor spaces welcoming and accessible? Do staff have the resources they need? Are persons with mental health and their families and friends involved in the care plan?