The Medical Association of Malta said that it has filed a judicial protest against the privatisation and/or outsourcing of further Government medical services.
In a statement the MAM said that after the 2018 doctors strike in protest at the transfer of the Government Hospitals to Steward, an agreement was signed where the Government ”promised to to carry out meaningful consultation with MAM for any future privatisation and bound itself to obtain the consent of the Medical Association of Malta prior to any privatisation/ outsourcing.”
This agreement has not been respected, the MAM said, and the Government ”has published tenders without any consultation or indeed obtained consent as stipulated.”
MAM said it is protesting that the Government is showing ”lack of transparency. This is crucial in the light of the Vitals/Steward fraud.”
The Association insists that ”any privatisation of medical services has to abide with signed agreements, have patients’ best interest at their core and there has to be proper scrutiny of how taxpayer money is being spent.”
It argued that ”Malta’s main health infrastructure is now in crisis as a result of the 400 million euros paid to Vitals/Steward. This crisis can only be solved with a holistic plan involving all the stakeholders.”
MAM stated that it is ”not against the involvement of the private sector in cutting waiting lists, including for IVF. However the blatant disregard of existing agreements and the lack of consultation does not reassure doctors that the Government has learned the lessons from the Vitals/Steward fraud.”
MAM concluded by calling on the Government to stop further privatisation until proper meaningful consultation is complete.”