Health Department rebuts MAM Press Statement

The Health Division refers to the press statement issued by MAM concerning senior appointments in the Health Service. The current Human Resource plan for Health Services expires in December 2000. It proposes a number of senior appointments most of which at Consultant level. At half way through the plan most positions have either been filled or are being processed. The Health department will stagger senior appointments to ensure that supporting infrastructure is in place. New consultant appointments imply re-allocation of clinic times, hospital beds, operating sessions and re-deployment of staff, together with in some instances, training of supporting staff in order to expand services.
When the Health Division was preparing its Human Resource plan, all clinical directors were consulted and their submissions were taken into account. Moreover submissions by MAM were also presented. The Human Resource Plan 1998-2000 reflects the international recommendations prevalent in 1997-1998 adapted to local needs. There is consensus that our health service should move to a consultant based service. This implies sharing of junior medical staff among consultants and a greater presence of consultant staff in wards and out-patient clinics and more frequent hospital visits in the evenings on duty days.

MAM chose to quote the Department of Medicine as an example of staff shortage. It is pertinent to point out that four consultant appointments have been made in the past three months and a further two positions are in the pipeline. These represent a 50% expansion at consultant level within the Department of Medicine.

MAM refers to international media reports concerning the direct relationship between hospital staffing levels and increased mortality rates. This same article quotes figures which MAM chose to ignore. In Malta there are 2.59 physicians per 1000 population compared to the OECD average of 2.7 physicians per 1000 population. In university teaching hospitals in OECD countries there are 0.378 doctors per bed. The comparative figure for St. Luke's Hospital is 0.398. The mortality rate at St. Luke's Hospital in 1998 was 1.78% of all admissions which is lower than 1.9% of all admissions quoted in this same article. The article quoted by MAM also states that improving levels of General Practitioner coverage is more effective in decreasing hospital deaths than improving hospital doctor levels.

The above facts do not bear out MAM's conclusions concerning quality of patient care in the local health service. The norms of present practice in Malta are indeed very close to those practiced in EU and OECD countries.