The Medical Association of Malta reacting to Friday’s Court decision to annul the hospitals contract, said “we told you so,” and has appealed to the government to “use all the legal means to recover the lost hundreds of millions from those concerned and who failed to deliver.”
In a statement on Monday, the MAM said it “notes with satisfaction the Court decision where 3 hospitals were returned to the Maltese people and the government released from any further contractual obligation to continue pouring money into this senseless bottomless pit.”
MAM insisted that it has from inception opposed such a “so called public-private partnership which was a complete sell out of the rights of Maltese patients to an unknown company called Vitals Global Health Care which turned out only to be a scam by a handful of individuals.”
“This has resulted in the pouring of over 500 million euros with not even one foundation stone of a hospital being laid down.,” it said.
MAM said that “besides continually opposing this project, twice ordered industrial action, so that Maltese doctors remained completely under the employment and authority of the government of Malta without any contractual relationship with either Vitals or Steward.”
“Furthermore, great relevance was given the testimony of MAM president Dr. Martin Balzan in the sentence issued by the courts.,” it said.
It stressed that, “MAM repeatedly emphasised with Minister Mizzi, and Prime Minster Muscat that it was not in the national interest to enter into such a deal, especially when the opportunity came not to transfer the deal to steward. These decisions led to the loss of hundreds of millions which should have been put into the medical infrastructure of the country.”
According to MAM it said that, “while Prime Minister Abela initially tried to negotiate a way out the deal, the opinion of his predecessor turned advisor to Steward prevailed, with the loss of around another 200 million euros in this period. In particular MAM was flabbergasted that government lawyers sided with Steward during this court case on a number of occasions.”
MAM concluded by saying that it “expects the government to decisively and clearly show that it is on the side of the Maltese patient and not on the side of fraudulent sharks, without fear or favour of those involved in this colossal debacle.”
File photo: Gozo News/Anthony Zammit