In a statement by the Parliamentary Secretariat for rights persons with Disabilities and Active Ageing it said that “Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca declares he is keeping with the waiver granted to him and is in the stage of phasing out his private practice and will be stopping it totally by the beginning of September.”

The work he is currently carrying out includes phakic implants and cornea cross linking operations which can be done only by Mr Mercieca, locally. With reference to cataracts, Mr Mercieca is operating only previously-seen patients.

With regards to laser surgery, Mr Mercieca said he “is one of only two local specialists who carry them out. He is currently training another person to carry out these surgeries. It is Mr Mercieca’s responsibility to make sure that this training is done without haste and in the most efficient of manners.”

Meanwhile, Mr Mercieca said that “reserves the right to pursue with legal action against The Sunday Times of Malta for libel in view of false information and inaccuracies in its front page story.

“The journalist who penned this article got even the most basic facts wrong, let alone the more elaborate issues. This comes as no surprise and follows a sustained pattern of attacks which are only meant to tarnish Mr Mercieca’s reputation,” the statement said.

“For instance, it has been alleged that Mr Mercieca uses his official car when travelling for his private practice. A picture of this car dominates the paper’s front page. This is an outright lie. The car is a private one, and the paper can check this by referring to the car’s registration number, which has been blurred in the published picture. The lack of investigation on such a basic fact undermines the author’s credibility and the other claims he makes.”

The Secretariat said that in “another false allegation is that Mr Mercieca delivers regular lectures about laser operations. This is rebuffed by the video published on the online story on timesofmalta.com itself, where the receptionist is heard clearly saying that you meet the surgeon only when in the theatre for the actual operation, something that the journalist conveniently failed to transcribe.

“This office is aware of at least a case of one patient who had to be sent abroad for surgery since he was not referred to Mr Mercieca, resulting in extra expense to the Maltese taxpayer. This leaves only the patients in question short-changed.”

“Mr Mercieca while fully understands the responsibilities of his office remains committed to be of service to his patients and will do his utmost to make sure that this transition is as smooth as possible for them. Meanwhile Mr Mercieca will continue to see patients at Mater Dei Hospital, including Sunday morning operations, without remuneration,” the Secretariat concluded.

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