Family and Social Solidarity Minister Michael Farrugia today told parliament that 270 elderly patients were transferred from Mater Dei and Karen Grech Hospital to St Vincent de Paul residence for the elderly between January and November 2014. He was replying to questions made by Opposition MP Robert Cutajar.
Dr Farrugia said another 221 elderly patients were transferred directly from their homes to the state run residence.
Mr Cutajar iasked Dr Farrugia why he did not reply to at least 12 earlier questions related to elderly patients. Dr Farrugia said that he did not mean to disrespect him, but said that it is useless giving information which could not be double-checked beforehand.
“When we have the complete replies, we will definitely reply to questions,” he assured Mr Cutajar, adding that "we do not want to be accused by the Opposition of giving incomplete answers".
Mr Cutajar said that he hopes he would have the replies to his series of questions by next Monday.
Dr Farrugia announced that after the government consulted with the relevant unions, SVPR was adding a number of beds to avoid overcrowding in corridors. However, he did not say how many.
Dr Farrugia admitted that during the 1996-98 period, he had made a mistake when he barred elderly patients from being transferred directly to state elderly homes from the community and only allowed patients to be transferred to elderly homes from St Luke’s Hospital. This, he said, created a problem since elderly patients were going to St Luke’s Hospital to secure a place at a state elderly home. He said that he is ensuring that history will not repeat itself.
Government will not investigate elderly patient deaths on arrival at SVPR; ‘I do not have a gift from God to prevent people from passing away’ - minister
Mr Cutajar then referred to a story published in The Malta Independent last week which revealed that a number of elderly patients – who were transferred to Saint Vincent de Paule Residence for the elderly in a bad state of health - died shortly after.
According to an informed source, 10 elderly patients were transferred to SVPR from Mater Dei and Karen Grech rehabilitation hospital two Sundays ago. One of the patients, a 98-year-old woman, died the next day, less than 24 hours after being admitted.
Mr Cutajar asked Dr Farrugia for an explanation. The minister said that unfortunately he did not receive a ‘gift from God’ to prevent people from passing away.
Asked if the government would be investigating the issue, Dr Farrugia asked if that meant that the PN wanted an investigation into specialists at Mater Dei for releasing the patients from hospital and transferring them to a home for the elderly.