Tag: Mater Dei

Categories
Corruption Politics

Rotten to the core

rotten_akkuzaThe scandal relating to the concrete supply at Mater Dei Hospital is turning out to be a fitting metaphor to describe the fate of Maltese politics.

In the first instance we are gradually exposing an extremely deficient system that existed back in the mid-nineties that somehow or another allowed for the provision of sub-standard building materials for a hospital. Do not for one moment allow yourself to forget that it is a hospital that we are talking about. Along with schools, hospitals are probably one of the more socially sensitive infrastructures whose standard and quality mirror the heart of a nation -this is not to say that using deficient building material in order to construct any other type of building would have been a mitigation of any kind.

The formula for this horrible state of affairs is the tried and tested combination of commercial interests that work their way (either through influence or through direct involvement) into the corridors of power. The businessman and the politician will then work together to earn a quick buck on the backs of an electorate blinded by the passion for partisan flag-waving and alternation. The metaphor becomes ever more apt when one of the protagonists (shall we say suspects) turns out to be a career politician who managed to remain a sacred cow for one or other of the parties at different times in his career. No amount of irony was spared when his decade-spanning involvement in local (and now European and World) politics mean that somehow or other he was involved with the health structures of the nation under both parties in government.

But this is not about John Dalli. This is about the politics and political system of our nation. For I say that the metaphor remains apt to this day. Whether the guardians of the nation in the mid-nineties are to be found accountable for any corrupt sales of deficient construction material when building a new national hospital remains to be seen – what is sure is that someone has to pay. It will be another notch for the pro memoria of the twisted insanity of the post-Mintoffian generation of politicians.

What we have today is another government that is intent on hiding the truth or using parts of it to its gain. As of this month Muscat’s government is strongly testing the resilience of democratic sustainability and sovereignty. While the masks had fallen a long time ago, a long line of inexplicable decisions have provided clear hints that the Taghna Lkoll ideal has long been dead and buried and that Muscat has lost the plot.

It is hard to identify where it all began. Was it the full-frontal assault on the environment that did the trick? Was it the blatant lies relating to all that is Zonqor? Was it the slip relating to the Qala Yacht Marina? Muscat had tested the waters with the Hunting Referendum and wrongly gauged the slight victory obtained by those intent on preserving the status quo of wrongly appliying a European directive. Even today his appointees in the Ornis Committee defy all odds with relation to trapping. yet, Muscat’s defiant attitude on environmental issues is not a deal breaker on democratic standards. It is after all the prerogative of his party in government to espouse a suicidal destructive environmental policy.

No, the non-democratic chasm of Muscat lies away from these “minor” spites to our environmental heritage. It lies dotted within political appointments and appointees that are starting to betray their ineptness but still remain defended by the Prime Minister himself. It lies within a Cabinet Code of Ethics that has just been announced and that exposes Muscat’s money-hungry coterie for all its hypocrisy. It lies within the recent decisions relating to government property used to line the pockets of friends of friends (oh they are back but louder and clearer) from the Premier Cafe farce to the latest Gaffarena pot of gold.

It lies with the appointment of judges and magistrates in full defiance of the reforms that were being proposed by his very government. It lies with a “What’s all the fuss?” attitude combined with the “Tu Quoque” retorts that have long been dried of all significance and only serve to reinforce the strong perception of arrogance. It lies with the regular rubbing up to despots and tinpot country leaders and running around with a begging bowl while seemingly ignorant of the atrocities and democratic deficits that exist within the nations of these much adulated partners.

It lies with the belief that the national heritage and national identity is there solely for Labour’s politicians to plunder and sell to the highest bidder. With the passport scheme Muscat began to sell our mind and identity, with the lands that he has taken to expropriating, selling under cost, or plundering from their natural value he is selling our body and heritage, as for our soul, it has long been sold to the first devil to turn up at our doorstep promising Muscat a bit of money, an investment for his developer friends and a photo opportunity in which to prance around like some latter-day Mussolini on speed.

It’s a disgusting state of affairs in which nothing is sacred – not even the institutions that should stand as a guarantee. Under a nationalist government the faulty concrete foundations were laid at Mater Dei Hospital. At the same time the rotten core of all that is wrong in our political system had begun to take root. Today we find ourselves the inheritors of a hospital that is unsafe and of a government at the helm of a political system that is ready to implode any minute.

Joseph Muscat’s Labour has its hands deeply tied and entwined with the same kind of businessmen as existed in the mid-nineties and set the path for the Mater Dei disaster. It is beyond redemption. Hope, if any, lies first of all in Simon Busuttil and his managing the re-foundation of the nationalist party before going on to re-found the Maltese State. It must be patently obvious by now that the nationalist party needs a reconstruction from the roots and not simply a renewal. A new style of politics, a new style of engagement and a new style of leadership.

Speaking at Zonqor Busuttil did say that the biggest task for his party is not to be different from Muscat but also to be different from his own party in the past.

Those words should be printed out on a concrete slab at the entrance of PN HQ. Preferably on good, sound concrete… sound enough to build the basis for a brighter future ahead.

 

 

Categories
Articles

J’accuse : Patients and their virtues

In case you were wondering, yes, I did survive my bachelor’s weekend in Italy. There’s nothing like spending some quality time with close friends who can second guess your every whim and fancy without batting an eyelid. It would indeed be a great world to live in if we all managed to live together like bosom buddies without feeling the need to justify our existence by highlighting our differences.

I only bought one book in Bologna − “Costruire il nemico” − a series of essays by Umberto Eco. In the first essay, Eco speaks of the need that has always existed in society of “constructing the enemy” and of the different manners in which such an enemy has been constructed. The essay is a roller-coaster ride through history that chronicles this historic “construction”: from Cicero’s depiction of his Catiline enemies, through the early Encyclopaedia Britannica entries on “Negroes”, through historic views (by “others”) on Saracens, Hitler on the Jews, Boccaccio on women or whoever else on whatever other category has been unlucky enough to be pigeonholed as the detestable enemy.

“(…) sin dall’inizio vengono costruiti come nemici non tanto i diversi che ci minacciano direttamente (come sarebbe il caso dei barbari), bensi coloro che qualcuno ha interesse a rappresentare come minacciosi anche se non ci minacciano direttamente, cosi che non tanto la loro minacciosità ne faccia risaltare la diversità, ma la loro diversità diventi segno di minacciosità”.

Think different

They say that a week is a long time in politics so I thought that an unplanned pause from the blogging and political scene would mean a return to topics new. Not really though, it was only last week that I was commenting on the farce that was the MUMN’s badly managed PR about the supposed stress caused to the entire Maltese health system by 16 (yes, sixteen) Libyan patients (one has sadly passed away since then).

Meanwhile, Dr Gonzi has declared the ITU closed for business in a very pre-Arriva bus-driver style declaration of “Full Up”. The MUMN, eager to stay ahead in the national foot-in-mouth championships couldn’t resist another jibe at the country’s political priorities. Apparently, the MUMN must have felt that crassly insinuating that Libyans should not be treated before every last Maltese national gets his taxes worth is not enough. So what better way to up the ante than to engage in further stereotypification. And what better “class” of citizens to use than the “Gozitans”?

They did get the headlines on the papers: “Gozitan patients lacking same political commitment given to Libyan patients”. This either means that the patients from Gozo are not as sufficiently politically committed as their Libyan counterparts (not dying for the patria are we?) or − as the “given” in the title seems to insinuate − there is not sufficient priority being given to the needs of Gozitan people coming to Malta for treatment.

Forgetting this grammatical cul-de-sac for a minute, it is absolutely ridiculous of the MUMN to actually bring this particular card out of their twisted set of lobbying instruments. The “Gozitan” cause is useful to politicians who want to specialise in a “minority” niche (if it’s not the South then it’s Gozo or Sliema or Siggiewi) and turn it into something really, really special. It is also useful to particular columnists who tend to thrive on a bit of Gozitan beating every now and then − they do so by spuriously linking localised examples of very Maltese ignorance to one particular geographic corner − as though what happens in Gozo never happened in Bisazza Street, Rabat or Cospicua.

I know. I’m biased. But what should that change? Are we stupid enough to erect barriers on the spittle of an isle we call home? What next? “Siggiewi patients deserve more attention in Maternity Ward?” And where the hell are the ethical principles that should be the foundation for a caring profession? For heaven’s sake − doctor, nurse, scrub, whatever − if you are in a caring profession then I’d expect you in the very least to be seeing each and every patient as just that: a patient. It’s not an ID Card that you have to cure; it’s a burn, a bullet wound or a severe case of chicken pox.

“Gozitans, Libyans, Siggiewi people, Xewkija people” − that’s not the language for nurses or their representative association. It’s the dangerous language of politicians who are prepared to go down the route of “great minds” before them… a geezer named Adolf comes to mind. Don’t worry though. This should all change with the news of Gaia the dog found in a skip. All this fuss about dying Libyans and underprivileged Gozitans will soon be sidelined to favour the plight of Malta’s latest animal hero. I wonder if the Animal Welfare Centre has a policy about particular breeds. “What? A boxer? No siree… we’re politically committed to Chihuahuas, Spaniels and Whippets…. “

Different strokes

Paul Pace and the MUMN chose the wrong imagery in order to highlight what might be a legitimate complaint of theirs. If our hospital system is understaffed, if patients (no matter what ID card status) are not being given a decent service and if there are other such similar problems, then there is no doubt that it is the business of a body like the MUMN to bring this to the attention of whoever may change such things. On the other hand, the dangerous game being played of fuelling discontent with the language of hatred is absolutely not done. There is no reason on earth for a nurse, doctor or hospital receptionist to treat one patient differently from another on the basis of nationality − or (heaven forbid) the village or town he is born in.

All too often we fail to discern the dangers of the divisive language that we really employ in our dealings with political affairs. Yes, it is my usual gripe but our dualist way of seeing things − black or white, blue or red − does not help us in any way. Thinking different requires a logical leap and a change of old customs and habits. It requires first of all that we collectively look in the mirror and realise the absurdity of our current situation. We need to concentrate on “knowing ourselves” more than on “knowing/constructing our enemies”.

Just read through the news and you will see what I mean. It’s not just sick individuals putting dogs in skips. It’s permits being issued to an establishment that will manufacture gas metres away from a fireworks factory. Worse still, just look at what the two parties are packing as marketing material for the next election. We had GonziPN selling you bundles of “Pride” while MuscatPL promised the masses that a PL government would give the people “Hope”. Hope? Pride? Talk about intangible faff. I had a dream where I filled my car tank with “Hope” and then proceeded to pay the station attendant in little “hope coins”. “That’s all I’ve got mate… but at least we got a change in government”.

Sunny Michaelmas

We had a sunny Michaelmas up north. That’s the 29th September. Apparently it means that we will have a mild and possibly sunny winter. Tell that to the stork who is gracing Gozo with its majestic presence. Do you follow the news like me − with that sinking feeling that any moment now the next update will say “Stork shot dead over the sea”? Why does it have to be like that? Where do we find all this darn hatred and anger that we unleash on a regular basis?

The ancient Greeks had the words “Know thyself” inscribed on the entrance to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. Sun-Tzu, the Chinese philosopher is attributed the saying “Know your enemy” in his Art of War. That’s some classical thought that is valid to this day. We might do well to do some introspective reflection − there’s time yet for the construction of another round of enemies − we’re only a few months away from full election fever anyway.

 

Categories
Values

The Libyan Patients

You take an unplanned break from blogging and when you come back you find out that nothing much has changed. Last time we were blogging regularly (seems like ages but it’s only a week ago) we commented on the farce that was the MUMN’s badly managed PR about the stress caused to the Maltese health system by 16 Libyan patients (one has since passed away).

In the interim, Dr Gozi has declared the ITU closed for business in a very pre-Arriva bus-driver style declaration of “Full Up”. The MUMN, eager to stay ahead in the national foot-in-mouth championships couldn’t resist another jibe at the country’s manager’s political priorities. Apparently crassly insinuating that Libyans should not be treated before every last Maltese national gets his taxes worth is not enough. MUMN ups the ante and engages in further stereotypification. And what better “class” of citizens to use than the “Gozitans”?

Apparently, as a badly drafted Times of Malta headline goes: “Gozitan patients lacking same political commitment given to Libyan patients“. Which either means that the patients from Gozo are not as sufficiently politically committed as the Libyan counterparts (Not dying for the patria are we?) or – as the “given” in the title seems to insinuate – there is not sufficient priority being given to the needs of Gozitan persons coming to Malta for treatment.

Forgetting this grammatical cul-de-sac for a minute, it is absolutely ridiculous of the MUMN to actually bring this particular card out of their twisted set of lobbying instruments. The “Gozitan” cause is usually useful to either politicians who want to specialise in a “minority” niche (if it’s not South then it’s Gozo or Sliema or Siggiewi) and turn it into something really really special. It is also useful to particular columnists who tend to thrive on a bit of Gozitan beating every now and then – spuriously linking localised examples of very Maltese ignorance to one particular geographic corner- as though what happens in Gozo never happened in Bisazza Street, Rabat or Cospicua.

I know. I’m biased. But what should that change? Are we stupid enough to erect barriers in the spittle of an isle that we call home? What next? Siggiewi patients deserve more attention in Maternity Ward? And where the fuck are the ethical principles that should be the foundation for a caring profession? For heaven’s sake – doctor, nurse, scrub, whatever – if you are in a caring profession then I’d expect you in the very least to be seeing each and every patient as just that: a patient. It’s not an ID Card that you have to cure, it’s a burn, a bullet wound or a severe case of toxoplasmosis.

Gozitans, Libyans, Siggiewi people, Xewkija people – that’s not the language for nurses or their representative association. It’s the dangerous language of politicians who are prepared to go down the route of “great minds” before them… a geezer named Adolf comes to mind.

Don’t worry though. They’ve found another dog close to death in a skip. All this fuss about dying Libyans and underprivileged Gozitans will soon be sidelined to favour the plight of Malta’s latest animal hero.

I wonder if the Centru San Frangisk has a policy about particular breeds. “What? A boxer? No siree…. we’re politically committed to Chihuahuas, Spaniels and Whippets…. “

Categories
Values

From Crimea to Benghazi

“Nurse of the Mediterranean”, “Florence Nightingale”. These terms are no coincidence and were not invented by some nationalist spinmeister in an effort to boost our “pride” in our country. As Maltatoday picks up on public sentiment and reports that three Maltese patients were moved out of the ITU to make way for injured Libyan persons (you can sense Saviour puffing behind this bit of news), it would do all of us a favour to calm down a little and have a look at the numbers behind all this fuss.

To me the crucial bit of the Maltatoday article is the part that reports the number of Libyan patients threatening to cause havoc with our health care facilities. Given the fuss that has been kicked up by the insensitive NIMBYISTS on one hand and by the superproud heroes of nationalist persuasion on the other you’d have thought we were talking of Lampedusa Thousands. Hah. The real number is 16. Sixteen. That’s a kindergarten class (I think).

Let’s take the hands of time and turn them back a century and half ago. It’s November 1854 and there’s a war in the Crimea. That’s far, far away in Maltese provincial terms but since we were then under the administration of the British Crown we could not afford to ignore the geopolitical realities beyond San Dimitri point. The Crimean War gave the world the Charge of the Light Brigade, familiarity with the word Balaklava and Florence Nightingale. It was also the reason that Malta became, for the first time under British occupancy “the nurse of the Mediterranean”. Before that Malta had already played host to the Knights Hospitaller which is not simply a decorative adjective but an indication of the vocation of the Knights of St. John as medics. Hence the Sacra Infermeria.

But back to the Crimea and Malta. Here is Mr C Savona Ventura in an article I found quickly (not much time for research here) on the net describing Malta’s hospital role and the grand plans by Florence Nightingale herself to design a hospital in Malta. What is immediately striking is the request from Britain to set up to receive 10,000 (that’s ten thousand) war wounded on the island.

The Crimean War of 1854-56 served as a turning point in military medical administration. During the Crimean War Malta served as an outpost to treat wounded soldiers. The Malta Times wrote “Orders were received here from England to prepare quarters for 10,000 men. Several localities are being fitted-up; among others, the Lazzaretto and adjoining Plague Hospital, where it is said there is room for 1000 men, and the Dockyard lofts where as many men can be housed. Convents will be used if absolutely required, but not otherwise.” The first wounded soldiers arrived from the Crimea in November 1854 [17]. (…)

Florence Nightingale in her book Notes on Hospitals first published in 1859 took up the proposal of a new military hospital in Malta. In the 3rd edition of her book dated 1863, Nightingale suggested that a new General Military Hospital should replace permanently the Valletta Station Hospital. (C. Savona Ventura – Military Hospitals in Malta)

If anyone has the time to find the actual figures of how many wounded were treated in Maltese hospitals in World War I and during the Crimean War it should help give us more of a sense of perspective to the political fuss that is being kicked up here.

 

During the First World War, like the Crimean War period, Malta served as a “Nurse of the Mediterranean”. From the Gallipoli campaigns 2500 officers and 55400 troops were treated in the Maltese hospitals, while from the 1917 Salonika campaigns 2600 officers and 64500 troops were treated. The years of the conflict thus required the significant augmentation of hospital beds for injured and sick troops. The number of beds in the Valletta Military Hospital were augmented from 26 beds to 340 and later to 440 beds. This augmentation was achieved by renovating disused wards and bringing the sanitary and medical facilities up to date. The Valletta Station Hospital served as a sorting base for the wounded arriving in the hospital ships prior to their being transferred to the other 30 hospitals and camps scattered over the Islands.  (also from C Savona Ventura – Military Hospitals in Malta)

* this post relies heavily on information gathered from the article “Military Hospitals in Malta” by C. Savona Ventura available here.

Categories
Jasmine

The Pride of Lions

Do you have Independence day hangover? Are you still reeling from the injection of pride in our country and its achievements – especially in its delayed reincarnation as the potential Florence Nightingale of the Libyan Spring? Or are you still feeling rather indignant at the “divisive” call for AST’s resignation? Better still, are you still clutching your aching sides after laughing all night at Labour’s non sequitur style reponse that “if my ex-Foreign Minister was an arsehole then your ex-Leader /PM / President played host to a flurry of arseholes in the early nineties”?

However you may have woken up this side of Independence Day, you will surely have gone through your morning papers and probably, like J’accuse, you’d have noticed the glaring inconsistencies in this proud nation’s dealing with foreigners. Here they are in black and white.

The Black – No to injured Libyans

On the one hand GonziPN’s efforts to weave a new heroic story into the tapestry of our PLPN history books have come under fire from an unexpected source. The (very christian) spokesperson of some Union of Nurses complained that Mater Dei has enough on its hands as it is and does not need to play nurse to any injured Libyans. Paul Pace, head of the MUMN told the government that “bigger countries with more facilities should address such problems”. Boom goes GonziPN’s plans of proud nation humbly serving the weak and the injured. Don’t hold your breath for a Joseph Muscat position on this mess by the way. He either criticises MUMN (read votes) for their tunnel vision or he criticises Gonzi’s plans thus losing cred on his “I love New Libya” mantra.

As for the proud nation sticking its neck out for others – here is the best source to tap the pulse of the nation … the Times online comment board:

Ms Maria Vella

Today, 09:59

Let us stop being all politically correct and call a spade a spade!

Mr. Pace did not beat around the bush and stated the situation as it is. We have enough Maltese patients (who pay taxes and contribute towards the running of this hospital) waiting for treatment, in corridors or at home, or even worse sent home because of lack of space but we find place and resources to treat foreigners.

Whilst my sympathies go towards the injured Libyans, charity should begin at home!

Now there’s a thought Mr. Prime Minister. A sympathy card to Libya and that’s that. Where’s Tonio Borg when you need him?

The White – Yes to rich magnates

Frank Salt, of Frank Salt properties, describes the new conditions for obtaining a residency in Malta as “a large hammer being used to crack a delicate egg” (TOM – Messing with the economic motor). Apparently the new conditions for your average Russian euro-burner to settle down in Malta are “very complicated, extraordinarily expensive, virtually prohibitive” – dixit Frank. It seems that the developers’ apple cart has been upset:

Was it sensible for the authorities to continue to allow new building developments specifically targeted at potential new foreign buyers, to sprout up all over our Islands, when they knew that they were about to unload this bombshell, that would and could, and no doubt will, upset the whole apple cart?

And the property developers are angry. They’re angry at the government that encouraged them to develop land to sell it off to Non-EU citizens (not injured Libyans mind you… for that we have Mater Dei) and then came up with these conditions. Here’s Frank being Frank again:

Today, the local property industry first works its backside off promoting Malta as a safe, inexpensive and pleasant place in which foreigners and their families can come and live in peace. Then, when the market gets off its feet, quality developments are built, foreign residents, permanent and temporary come to Malta to see whether they would like to live here… bang… once again it is time to mess things up.

And then there is the music for the environmentalist’s ear:

Now we have to see how we are going to sell the hundreds of properties that are currently on the market and those hundreds more that have new permits to build.

Dunno Frank. I’m thinking that you should sell some of that space to … lemme see… a Qatari developer who could then invest some of his money into … hmm… a hospital. There would  be some divine justice in that wouldn’t there? An exclusive hospital built to service the wounded and injured from the Arab Spring. The developers would get their money. The nurses would get their break from the influx in Mater Dei and the government would sell this off as some smart move. Lovely no?

Finale

Of course mine is a tongue in cheek suggestion to Mr Salt. What really jars is the existence of this reality on our tiny rock. On the one hand we have those christians who cannot accept the idea that our valuable hospital space is being taken up by “foreigners” (stop bleeding on my soil) and on the other we have those business minded few who are dying to get the right type of foreigner (those who bleed money) to our shores.

It’s normally Joseph Muscat’s job to blame Gonzi for everything under the sun (including tsunamis and world economic crisis). I’d just say simply that our political establishment are getting the “proud” citizens they have nurtured and that they deserve.

What you reap is what you sow. Maybe it’s time to wake up.

 

Categories
Mediawatch

Inconvenient Strikes

More confused reporting. The Times. Again. This time they report Pulse – a student organisation. I am left wondering whether Pulse got partially quoted or whether Pulse are plain stupid. The subject matter is a very specific ATP strike – a transport strike. The ATP chose to strike where it hurts most and have threatened to suspend the Mater Dei bus service indefinitely until they get whatever it is they are whinging about.

Let’s face it. ATP were never the greatest sympathy stirrers in the history of Malta. We all remember the great bus strike a couple of years back. Like the firemen in England who threatened to strike on the eve of the 5th November (Guy Fawkes night – fireworks – most dangerous to not have firemen), the ATP figured that it would strike in the one sector where its service would be most sorely missed.

And then the Times reports the reaction (among others) of Pulse thusly:

The Pulse students’ organisation this afternoon regretted a decision by the bus owners’ association (PTA) to suspend bus services to and from Mater Dei Hospital, saying this would also affect University students. (…) Pulse in its statement said that while it recognised the right of the bus drivers to take industrial action, it was unfair that thousands of students would not be able to use the buses to go to University. It urged the Transport Ministry and Transport Malta to remedy the situation.

Bravi. I mean we are used to block headed transport people – from bus to taxi to karozzin drivers but what were Pulse thinking? They wanted to support the idea of the strike in principle you see – just totter over to facebook to see the  gleeful manner in which young progressives are attempting to pin this onto GonziPN. At the same time though they could not help pointing out that this strike – the right to which they fully recognise and which id definitely Gonzi’s fault – is quite an inconvenience to University students. They even used one of the trendy progressive terms – “unfair” as in “mhux fjer ta!”.

Now if only strikers could come up with a way of striking effectively without inconveniencing anyone. I really hope it’s a case of wrong reporting from the Times.