Doctors hoping to reach agreement on State hospitals' transfer this week

The doctors’ union is hoping to strike a deal with the government this week over the State hospitals’ transfer saga in the form of guarantees for its members and on the level of service provided to patients. The union is at loggerheads with the government over the transfer of the three hospitals from Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) to Steward Health Care. The Medical Association of Malta and the Health Ministry will be meeting on Wednesday and Thursday to iron out the text of the agreement with the guarantees, which, according to union general secretary Martin Balzan, will be “a compromise”. “All we have to do is agree on the text and put pen to paper. We’re that close now. I cannot divulge what the agreement contains. All I can tell you is that it will offer certain elements of guarantee for our members and on the level of service provided to patients,” Dr Balzan said when contacted on Monday. Pressed on whether the MAM had backtracked from its original position to have the VGH agreement rescinded, Dr Balzan said: “That was our original goal, but I think that what we have agreed upon in principle will achieve the same results in a different way. It’s a compromise.” Asked what...