Two new hospital wards in Mater Dei to open \u2018in coming weeks,\u2019 Health Minister says<\/p>\n
Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela announced to the Parliament of Malta that “in the coming weeks,” two brand new wards – with a combined capacity of 46 patients – will be opened in place of the current administration block inside Mater Dei Hospital.<\/p>\n
This space will provide a “sizeable area” for more patients to be cared for at the national hospital.<\/p>\n
Part of this strategic manoeuvre, according to the Minister for Health, is to also combine, vacate and refurbish the SAU-2 and M9 wards within Mater Dei Hospital and for this area to be assigned for acute mental health services.<\/p>\n
Minister Abela said that this strategic move is being done for two reasons: primarily to increase Mater Dei’s capacity but also to assign two dedicated wards where patients with mental health conditions can be cared for.<\/p>\n
He told the House of Representatives that where mental health is concerned, it is important for admitted patients to be located in appropriate places. He stated that placing such patients in a licensed and appropriate ward to be cared for not only bolsters their care but also provides peace of mind and comfort to the healthcare workers overseeing them.<\/p>\n
Abela noted that, “as the government promised” in the past, this move guarantees that Mater Dei can care for mental health conditions.<\/p>\n
The Minister for Health provided this information following a parliamentary question (PQ) put forward by Labour MP Davina Sammut Hili.<\/p>\n
In addition, following a separate PQ posed by PL MP Rosianne Cutajar, Minister Abela also shared that “in the coming days,” two new wards inside Block 1 of Mount Carmel Hospital will be inaugurated. <\/p>\n
As infrastructural works continue at Mount Carmel Hospital, two wards have been completed and are awaiting their inauguration. Minister Abela told Parliament that he’s already viewed these two wards and said that they are “ready, modern and nice.”<\/p>\n
He noted that the furniture within these mental health care facilities must be designed in a manner that reduces the risk of harm for its patients and staff; this includes for amenities such as toilets and showers, he added. Abela stated that “this furniture is being installed as we speak.”<\/p>\n
Beautification works of Mount Carmel Hospital’s garden, outside its Young People’s Unit (YPU) where children and adolescents are offered mental health care, is also underway and is expected to be completed in the “near future.”<\/p>\n
While giving this discourse to open Wednesday’s plenary, Health Minister Abela commented that while Mount Carmel Hospital is “crucial” in providing national mental health services, the hospital only offers some 10% of all mental health services available in the country.<\/p>\n
“It is important, but it is not everything for mental health services,” said the Minister for Health.<\/p>\n
He mentioned that nowadays, Mount Carmel Hospital cares for around 200 patients, which is a stark decrease from the approximate 800 patients it cared for a decade ago. Abela said that this decreased attendance is because of the government’s focus to push for mental health services to be provided within local communities, rather than centralised in Mount Carmel Hospital or elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Abela pledged that while the government is working for mental health services to be available within communities, mental health conditions requiring acute care from hospitals will be available through a modern unit inside Mater Dei Hospital, where this care can be offered there in the future.<\/p>\n