MaltaMedia.com

The Malta Medical Association (MAM) made an appeal to the public, to take care of their elderly relatives when discharged from the Mater Dei hospital.

The MAM president Dr. Martin Balzan called for cooperation from family members to support the discharge patients.

Dr. Balzan said that an increasing number of people were putting pressure on medical staff not to discharge their relatives who were otherwise fit for discharge.

Indeed, he said that “this situation is causing acute hospital bed shortages at Mater Dei Hospital and around 80 beds could be blocked by such patients at any one time. This amounts to 10 per cent of all hospital beds and around 30 per cent of all acute medical beds.”

However, he stressed “while patients who require a certain intensity of medical care will continue to be kept in hospital until fit for discharge, there are situations where if the right family support was available discharge from hospital could be effected one or two days before. This would help increase the availability of hospital beds.”

The MAM statement echoes that made by the Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joseph Cassa on February 9 when he urged relatives to take care of post-operational patients to free more beds; in which the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry deemed as unacceptable and an unnecessary burden to employees.

see: MCCEI slams statement of having relatives looking after convalescents