Around a dozen patients have been submitted to unauthorised X-rays at the new Mater Dei radiology department in a bid by the hospital authorities to test the new machines even before they are certified as safe.
The incident sparked off an on-site inspection leading to an official stop notice from the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) ordering the new hospital management to cease its practices immediately given the potential risks to patients and staff.
Sources said a number of out-patients who were scheduled for an X-ray at St Luke’s were directed to go to Mater Dei instead where the new state of the art equipment was waiting to be used on them for the first time in the presence of a foreign expert engaged precisely to teach radiographers how to use the machine.
But when an OHSA senior officer went on site to verify a report filed to the authority by hospital staff, the X-ray rooms were forced to close down until the equipment was declared safe.
“A stop order has been issued on the use of X-ray equipment,” said the OHSA’s senior manager for radiation protection, Paul Brejza, when contacted Friday.
Sources say the area will remain closed until OHSA ensures that the X-ray facilities and rooms follow international standards meant to offer protection of staff and patients – something that is still pending despite the hospital’s official opening last June to much fanfare.

Mater Dei’s Chief Executive Officer, Marion Rizzo, would not discuss the case, claiming only that patients were not placed at risk despite the lacking safety certification.
“I think it would be premature and inadvisable to reach conclusions at this stage, since discussions on this issue are still ongoing between OHSA, the Medical Imaging Department and hospital management,” Rizzo said.
“However, I would like to point out that OHSA has been actively involved in the testing and commissioning of the equipment within the Mater Dei Hospital Medical Imaging Department. Furthermore, the machines were evaluated both by our medical physicists and expert foreign physicists to ascertain that they meet the specifications. The reports of such tests are evaluated by OHSA. I also want to emphasise that at no time were any patients placed at risk.”
Hospital sources however said that the OHSA official interviewed the radiographers and the manager of the radiography services to verify who had authorised them to X-ray patients since the department had no approval from the authority.
Another sign that the hospital is not yet ready to function was the fact that X-ray films could not be developed or viewed at Mater Dei given that the new hospital is meant to store only filmless digital images to be viewed on monitors once the IT system gets installed. In fact the X-rays had to be saved on CD to be developed elsewhere as there is no developing equipment at the Tal-Qroqq hospital.
Meanwhile in another publicity stunt at Mater Dei, pregnant women were outraged when they got to know that they were only called in at the hospital for a photo opportunity after they were told they would not be able to give birth at the Lm250 million hospital as the natal ward would still not be finished.
Photos of the pregnant women appeared on the newspapers, but the fact that they will still end up giving birth at St Luke’s remained kept under wraps. It was only revealed last Sunday on MaltaToday’s sister paper, Illum.

kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt