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Hospital Controversy
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The Government and Opposition views
Government view:
Not true that there are not enough beds
Once again the Opposition rush to criticise the Government without bothering to get their facts right. Consequently, they make inaccurate statements as they try to make political capital.
It is not true, as the Opposition have claimed, that ?there are not enough beds in the hospital? or that there are ?less than the number of beds that were available at St Bernard?s Hospital many years ago?.
The correct position is that the new St Bernard?s has a total of 212 beds, 30 of which are in a ward that has not yet been brought into use. In the old hospital there were only 167 beds, which is obviously less than in the new hospital and not more as the Opposition have claimed.
The Opposition rejects the GHA?s explanations as to the reasons for bed shortages, but do not say why they think that this constitutes incompetent mismanagement of the health service. They do not say what competent management measure is available to ensure that bed blocking by medically discharged people will not reduce the number of beds available for sick people.
Typical of the GSLP?s destructive style of politics they criticise the Government both for the problem and the solution. The GHA has proposed that pensioners who use the hospital as if it were Mt Alvernia should be treated as such, i.e. by paying in their pension. It is not clear why the GSLP thinks that this is bullying, when they themselves did it to all pensioners at Mt Alvernia when they were in Government. More likely it is yet another instance of an unprincipled political party wanting to be all things to all voters, said health minister Ernest Britto.
Opposition view:
Britto must accept his failure instead of blaming others
Once again the Government has rushed to defend itself from valid Opposition criticism by distorting facts. As a result Mr Britto, in dealing with the objectively valid criticisms of the GHA made by the Opposition, has made obviously inaccurate statements in a feeble attempt to save some political face.
The statement that the GSLP when in government required all Pensioners at Mount Alvernia to ?pay in? their pensions in order to take advantage of the services of that elderly care home is untrue. As Mr Britto must have known, given that he has been elected since 1988, during the years that the GSLP (and indeed the AACR) were in office Mount Alvernia was run by the John Mackintosh Trust. It was that Trust, a charitable organisation, and not the GSLP or the AACR that required Pensioners, who applied to reside at the Home, to pay in their pensions as part payment for care. We challenge the Government to prove that the opposite is the case.
The statements of the Government to the contrary are therefore untrue and Mr Britto must therefore be either deliberately trying to mislead the electorate or politically senile if he has ?forgotten? the facts.
The payment of both Social Security and Occupational Pensions to Mount Alvernia is based on an agreement with the pensioner, at the time of her/his application for residence in the Home.
Mr Britto?s proposal to his Government on behalf of the Health Authority is that Pensioners should be punished for not leaving the hospital when ordered to do so, by having their Social Security and Occupational Pensions withheld. This is, in our view, illegal.
The reality of the situation is that St Bernard?s is experiencing bed shortages that the Government promised would disappear when the hospital migrated to Europort. Taking into account how long the move took to plan and how much money has been spent on outside experts, it is clear that there was a failure on the part of those concerned to make adequate provision. The way Mr Britto seeks to manipulate information is shown by his argument that there are 212 beds in the hospital and then goes on to say that 30 of these are not available to patients. Therefore, the beds in use are 182. This is less than what was available in St Bernard?s Hospital in 1989.
Everyone knows, without being an expert that elderly people are more susceptible to illness during the cold winter months and less able to care for themselves after receiving hospital treatment. Gibraltar is no exception in this respect.
The effect of Mr Britto?s statements over the past week is simply to try and lead an onslaught against the elderly to make them scapegoats for his political failure. Mr Britto should remind himself of the fact that we all get old and need more care as we advance in age than we do when we are younger. His callous attitude does nothing, however, to resolve the problem of bed shortages that he and his managers have created.
Mr Fabian Picardo commented, ?Mr Britto needs to think again. He needs to accept his failure and put matters right instead of blaming others?.
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