Mater Dei Hospital Malta
After much controversy, delays and overspending, Mater Dei hospital finally replaced the old and dodgy St. Luke’s hospital in June 2007 with the last of the personnel having migrated by November of the same year. The cost of the project had been initially predicted to be around 116m Euro, however the end cost reached over half a billion Euro in total.
Malta’s health care is provided for free (well not exactly for free, just from the tax payers money) by the state and over 80% of the Maltese population makes use of it.
Mater Dei is the main and largest hospital offered by the state. Its location right next to the University of Malta (which is also state run), aids in the fact that it is also the main teaching hospital on the island. Mater Dei hospital is spread over 250,000 sqm with a total of 7,156 rooms of which 6,700 are equipped with state of the art medical equipment. This includes 25 operating theatres and 906 patient beds.
Every patient in Mater Dei hospital has access to TV, Internet, radio and telephone from their own bed at a minor cost. Other facilities include a nurse call system (which is similar to an intercom system), and a CPR button, which is directly linked by a pager to the cardio-pulmonary resuscitation team.
Environmental considerations were taken in the planning and the construction of the hospital. Mater Dei hospital is in fact the first building in Malta with insulated external walls and high performance glass fitted into the windows. This reduces cooling costs during the summer months and heating costs during the winter months.
Other environmental considerations taken into consideration include; the collection of rainwater for irrigation, low flush toilets, recycling, the use of environmentally friendly refrigerants and many others.
Mater Dei Malta information
Tal-Qroqq, Msida
MSD 2090
Malta
Tel: 25 450000
Fax: 25454154
Email: mdh@gov.mt
Website: ehealth.gov.mt
General Visiting Hours:
Monday to Saturday
12:00pm – 12:30pm
03:45pm – 5:30pm
07:30pm – 8:00pm
Sundays & Public Holidays
10:00am – 11:30am
03:45pm – 5:30pm
07:30pm – 8:00pm
Exceptions to visiting hours at Mater Dei Hospital Malta:
Cardiac Medical Ward & CCU – All days 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm and 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
CICU – All days 10:30 am – 11:00 am and 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Disneyland – One parent can stay with the child at any time
Fairyland – Both parents can stay from 8 am to 8 pm
ITU - All days 10:30 am – 11:00 am and 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
NPICU – Parents can stay with their babies at any time, other relatives from: 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Obstetric Wards – Partners only 10:00 am – 7:00 pm, other visitors 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Plastic Surgery & Burns Unit – Monday to Saturday 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Holidays 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Rainbow – Open visiting hours
Wonderland – Relatives may visit from 3.45 pm – 5.30 pm
Useful Telephone Numbers:
Blood Donation Centre G’Mangia – 2206 6201
Customer Care Office – 2545 4184
Emergency Ambulance – 112
Emergency Department – 2545 4030
Main Reception – 2545 4182
Medicines & Poisons Info Office – 2545 6504
Out-patient Appointment Office – 2545 4182
Pharmacy – 2545 6535
X-Ray Appointment Office – 2545 6700
October 19th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Nice you have a new hospital, but where did you get the staff from, the old St Lukes? Well if you did, the staff are not very competent at all. My daughter was a patient there when she had a stone in the kidney during 2007 and they nearly killed her. We had to escape in the middle of the night and went to the private hospital St James. They saved her life as she had a very bad infection, St Luke’s staff simply did not know what they were doing. The hospital was filthy and had no running water. No food or drink ever came in our room either and I remember a male nurse there who was terrorized and seemed mentally sick. When we asked for his name no one would give it to us, even the doctor was afraid of him.
I will never forget what i saw in that hospital, people were dying all around us. People told us many of their loved ones had died in that hospital but every one was afraid to speak out, because this would prevent them from ever being admitted if the need should arise. I would honestly prefer to die at home. Like i said if the staff from St Lukes are working in the new Mater Dei Hospital Malta … may god help everyone in there.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I think it’s not how u are describing it now … I was there 2 days ago in Fairyland with my son. Tha staff was perfect, the food and the room were amazing. The operation went good, in one word simply perfect! Thanks to the staff there.
Always yours, Dale and Shakira
November 15th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Just to let the general public know that the nurses and doctors that work in private hospitals have been trained in St Lukes or Mater Dei and most of them still work in Mater Dei and work part time in private hospitals. Another thing, how can people expect not to see sick patients die in a hospital when the majority of patients are over 70 years of age or have a terminal illness … may god help some people understand.
December 24th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Mater Dei Malta is simply just like a very nice hotel with excellent staff, impeccable tidyness and great service. There’s a lunch and dinner menu, from were the patient can choose for his own appetite and taste, and this is all for FREE. Usually patients at other clinics, or private hospitals are rushed to Mater Dei hospital even in the middle of an operation, as all other health establishments are not as equipped as our magnificent hospital.
Thank you all at Mater Dei, for your dedication and personal sacrifices you do for us.
YOU’RE SIMPLY THE BEST!
January 6th, 2010 at 11:36 am
I am an ex-employee of St Luke’s and Mater Dei Hospital, I now live and work in London. What I can say, is that we provided a very good service. Mrs Sant with all due respect, I do not know what you are speaking about. I can guarantee you after having lived in London for 2 years, that there are worst hospitals than St Luke’s … and Mater Dei is really a state of the art hospital, both structurally and with the service it provides.
A big well done to all the staff there, we really do work hard in Malta and do know our stuff. Keep up the good work guys and may I also add us health-workers from Malta, have a very good reputation all over the world, even in London!
January 13th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I was speaking honestly about St Luke’s hospital. I have spoken to many Maltese people both in Malta and in Australia and they all agree with me, that they also had bad experience in St Luke’s and had lost loved ones through negligence of staff and unhygienic practices. We love Malta, but all the people that want to come over there prefer to pay for medical insurance and go to a private hospital.
Mater Dei was not yet operating when we were there and we were taken by ambulance to St Luke’s. My child almost died there and our insurance arranged for her to be taken to St James Capua, they were brilliant and saved her life. People in Malta are too afraid to speak out, they told us that if they complain their families would be unable to go to the hospital should the need arise. I am glad that here in Australia we can complain constructively and change things that are bad to the betterment of everybody.
Regards,
Mary Sant
January 14th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Typical Maltese/Australian! Looking down on anything Maltese, when in my opinion Malta is 10 years ahead in many ways. The only thing I liked in Australia were the roads and their driving.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Please don’t be like that Cecilia, we loved Malta immensely … even though certain shops and taxi drivers rip you off and an official at the airport wanted a bribe of fifty dollars to sign a tax refund document. We just wanted to warn people to take out medical insurance so they could go to a private hospital and NOT ST LUKE’S HOSPITAL. There was no running water or hygene in that hospital. A dear old lady who had her leg amputated requested a fan above her head to be put on her and a bad male nurse got up on a chair and broke the fan so she would not bother him and he told her that if she asked for anything else he would chop the other leg off, if that was your mother in that hospital would you like her to be treated so badly? He would not give his name, why? Because he had something to hide. When i called customer care to see if the old lady was ok, a gentleman said he could not believe what i was telling him, then when i spoke in Maltese he believed me and said he had heard many complaints but his hands were tied and he too was too afraid to speak out.
And please don’t call us typical Maltese/Australian, because we support Malta in every way we can. But as a mother, if you see something bad, you must speak up. Even the ambulance that took my daughter to hospital was an animal pick up vehicle, we were ready to come back to Australia and raise money to buy you another one, so please treat us with a bit of respect.
Regards to you all and happy new year.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
May we please be allowed to say a very big thank you to all the staff at the ophthalmic ward in Mater Dei Hospital.
My wife just had a cataract operation, performed by Mr. T. Fenech. (9/03/10, Opt Ward, Rm 2 Bed 4) From the onset it was evident that although this was not a midweek break, as we jokily told Doreen, the two days required were not going to be too difficult for her. Needless to say, one is very cautious when he or she is spending some time in a hospital. From the moment Doreen registered admission, she was made to feel at home immediately. All the staff with no exception, proved their ability, kindness and dedication, even when they were under stress, (this is a hospital after all) . I have been lucky to have stayed in many hotels around the Maltese islands and abroad – very few surpluses the Mater Dei, and those that did, cost a pocket! Food was served hot, plentiful, and very hygienically packed. The room was kept spick and span at all times. My thanks goes to Mr. Fenech and his operating team, all the ward staff at the ophthalmic ward and a very big thank you to Dr. Pierre Farrugia our family Doctor for his constant devoted attention to my wife’s needs over the years. May God bless you all and give you more energy to help the sick.
I cannot leave this site without replying to Mrs. Mary Sant.
I am 54 years old, and yes I do agree that there where some of the ailments that you mentioned at SLH, and I am sure some will also come up at Mater Dei. After all it’s a general hospital and caters for the needs of all the Maltese people and whoever is sick while in Malta but I have never known them to be to that extreme. However, if you have said that someone told you that they cannot complain to the authorities, then I can tell you that you can. I did, I needed to complain some years ago and it was not a nice complaint, but as you can see from my above letter, I have been allowed to use the hospital services and I have nothing to complain about. I am not saying, you did not have a case, who am I to say so? But please do not generalize. It’s not for good for us citizens that will be using the hospital nor is it good for the moral of the staff and authorities. If I was in your place, I would have taken steps to make sure that your complaint arrived at the right person. I did and was very happy with how the department reacted. And my complaint was a far cry lesser then what you described!
Doreen & Ray Borg
March 31st, 2010 at 4:51 pm
I have been in both Mater Dei and St Luke’s Hospital. Well we all know that St Luke’s was an old shabby place and very dirty too, but nothing to say about the staff. We now have a beautiful hospital full of all today’s requirements. There is absolutely nothing bad I can say about the staff there who are all extremely dedicated. They work long hours and like any other human being, they get tired of course. But they all do their best. On behalf of my family, I thank them for everything. One advise to the general public … be polite, understanding and most of all grateful to all those people there, who are always at our service.
March 31st, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Well said Ms. Louise Antonelli!
The staff needs all the backing from the general public. They are doing a sterling job, sometimes under very difficult circumstances.
Ray & Doreen
May 5th, 2010 at 3:22 am
Group 4 Security are very rude people! Kick them out from there.
May 20th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
I have been at Mater Dei Hospital because my mum was vey sick. I can assure you that the nursing staff, of all the different wards she was admitted in, where very helpful and watched over her and on the other patients with such great love and kindness and performed their duties in the best of ways. This also includes the doctors. The food was always different and very good. In the kitchen you can always find bread which even relatives can take any time, tea, coffee, milk and amazingly even cereals. It’s true that you don’t find this even in 5 stars hotels around the island. I also want to mention that the cleaning is impeccable too. The cleaners were so dedicated and all the time on the go … and all this for free! What else do we need?
PROUD TO BE MALTESE
June 19th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
The emergency ward is full of people without experience. We all pay good and I say good taxes. Shame and I say it again SHAME!