Mater Dei is resuming its outpatient appointments

Mater Dei hospital has started increasing the number of outpatient cases it treats as part of efforts to resume some normal operations in the COVID-19 era, CEO Celia Falzon has confirmed. Despite the coronavirus threat, certain patients are facing a greater health risk if they fail to treat their chronic conditions, Falzon has warned. The hospital had postponed all non-urgent surgeries in March to shift the focus onto the coronavirus outbreak. While also still dealing with the pandemic, the hospital has again changed its approach to ensure those with other serious conditions get the treatment they need. “When coronavirus hit, we had to shut down everything to try to contain it. But then you cannot delay certain care for other conditions for much longer than two to three months,” Falzon told Times of Malta in an interview. “We know that patients who have certain symptoms need to be seen and they need to be treated. Cases that weren’t really that urgent three months ago are now urgent… and so we have to deal with them.” While the hospital is still prioritising the more urgent cases, it is now widening its criteria to include more patients, especially if they had not been receiving...