Maltese doctors strike over hospitals privatisation

VALLETTA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Medical Association of Malta (MAM), the country's only doctors' union, has ordered its members to strike on Tuesday and to follow a number of directives over disagreements with the government on a public-private partnership signed for the running of three of the country's hospitals.

The one-day strike went ahead after last-minute talks between the MAM and deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne failed to reach a breakthrough.

The directives include a strike at Mater Dei Hospital's outpatients department, as well as five health centres around Malta and Gozo. Mater Dei Hospital is the Malta's largest hospital, and the only one offering free healthcare services.

Private hospitals are considerably smaller and don't offer the full range of services that Mater Dei Hospital does.

MAM's directives also include doctors in administrative duties not answering phone calls or emails, the postponement of non-urgent appointments and prescriptions have been postponed to other dates, and ward doctors working on a work-to-rule basis.

In comments to the media MAM secretary general Martin Balzan said that the strike had been a success, and that he was aware of only two or three doctors that did not obey MAM's directives.

Balzan confirmed that Accident and Emergency doctors were exempt from taking part in the strike, as were doctors working at the outpatients' department dealing with oncology and maternity, as well as some who needed to help in fracture cases.

Fearne, who is also the health minister and a doctor by profession, has said that he remains open to talks with the union.

In 2015, the Maltese government signed an agreement with Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) which was to see VGH invest some 200 million euros and operate three of the country's hospitals.

Despite the agreement, and having set a number of targets for VGH, in December 2017, it was announced that VGH would be selling its concession to U.S. company Steward Health Care.

According to doctors' collective agreement with the government, they are to be given six weeks notice prior to any privatisation agreement, a clause the union says has been breached given that talks between VGH and Steward Health Care are ongoing.

The government has argued that the agreement between the government and the new operators, Steward Health Care, will remain the same as signed with VGH. Enditem