Karl Schembri

Everyone wants to be at Mater Dei, it seems, as people are pouring in by the hundreds to see, smell, touch and feel the new state-of-the-art emergency department.
From patients in imminent danger of dying to just curious happy families eager to see how their taxes have been spent at the mammoth hospital, Mater Dei started off like a new hotel in the peak season.
So popular has been the migration publicity campaign urging people to flock to Mater Dei, that the staff are ending up totally burnt out barely two months since they started working there.
On 26 November, a shocking 432 visitors entered emergency – a phenomenal influx compared to the average daily 250 making use of the same department, only exceptionally rising to 300.
The 18 and 19 November saw more than 300 visitors with 74 and 97 admissions to hospital respectively.
Staff working at the admissions and emergency department speak of the trauma and burnout of junior and inexperienced doctors as they try coping with the rising influxes of curious visitors.
Already at St Luke’s, the department had a patient turnover of 100,000 a year, more than one-fourth of the Maltese population.
The staff there treats all acutely and critically ill patients, ranging from people suffering multiple trauma to sufferers of medical conditions – a very broad span of life-threatening conditions requiring knowledgeable experts who can act swiftly.
Yet the rushed migration has also been accompanied by a rapid turnover of doctors assigned there, making training very difficult and inadequate.
Despite the migration that was meant to come with new work practices for the hospital professionals, the department remains under the responsibility of only one consultant who has to provide training for new doctors, devise work policies, arrange rosters and handle all administrative work.
The Association of Emergency Physicians of Malta has already warned this is a very dangerous situation. “Inevitably, this challenge threatens to lead to unsafe work practices, because only junior and inexperienced medical staff are available to deal with the bulk of patients,” said association president Mario Tabone-Vassallo.
“Surprisingly, these transfers and replacements often occur without the prior knowledge or consent of the consultant in charge of the department.”
The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that more and more local health centres are being closed down as government is centralising further health care at Mater Dei.
While most of the emergency visitors could be easily attended to by general practitioners or their family doctor, the lack of State health services in the community keeps dumping patients at Tal-Qroqq unnecessarily and jeopardising the service in the process.
According to Health Minister Louis Deguara, yet another “strategic plan” on community services and primary health care is being prepared. Meanwhile patients have to keep their fingers crossed they will be seen before they die, or pray the Mother of God for her intercession.

kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt