The Nationalist Party spokesperson for Gozo Chris Said, has said that it is more than week since it made “a number of questions about their preparations, or absence of, for Covid-19 on Gozo.”
Dr Said pointed out that these questions still remain unanswered. He added that in “recent days the uncertainty surrounding preparations in the only hospital on Gozo – which is no longer public, but a private hospital – continues to increase.”
“The PN are therefore reiterating these points which need to be answered promptly in order to reassure Gozitans that preparations have been made and that all steps have been taken,” he said.
Dr Said asked, “by how many have the intensive care beds increased at Gozo General Hospital? How many ventilators are there? How many new ones have been ordered? How many of these new ones have arrived? Why are Gozo patients who are positive for Covid-19 being kept in the normal ward with other patients? Who made this decision? Isn’t this an extra risk? Why is the protocol used in Gozo totally different from that of Malta?”
“According to the Minister for Health and Minister for Gozo, beds for Covid-19 patients were to be increased to 120, and although a number of operations have been postponed, wards are overcrowded due to the number of elderly waiting for places in nursing homes that are still not ready, despite being pledged by the Government for the last six years,” Dr Said stated.
He asked when the 120 beds would be ready? “Are there enough doctors, nurses and staff to be able to take care of patients in these beds when they are added and if needed?” Dr Said argued that “staff at the Gozo hospital did not appear to have increased, but rather decreased in recent weeks.”
He also questioned why the elderly in the Santa Anna unit are still at the hospital instead of being taken to a hotel in Victoria as had been advised. Dr Said added that, “this delay must create a risk for the elderly residents who are in a hospital where there are patients who are positive for Covid-19.”
“Gozo swabs tests are still not being analysed locally on the island, but in Malta, with the risk of wasting valuable time and resources, as well as creating unnecessary anxiety,” stressed Dr Said. He went on to ask, “why has the Government not requested that Steward Health Care have the necessary equipment to enable this analysis of swabs to be performed in the Gozo hospital?”
He went on to ask why the need for safe premises for Gozo ambulance drivers [1], who are currently having to use a container, have still not been addressed. If there is a problem among these workers, who will carry out the service?”
The Nationalist Opposition urged the Government “to answer these questions for the benefit of Gozitans.”
The PN concluded by saying that it “understands the delicate situation of the Covid-19 outbreak and we are therefore re-offering our collaboration through recommendations and constructive criticism so that Gozo can also meet the challenges being faced because of this virus.”