Head of Ophthalmology sees no risks to patients if parliamentary secretary stops practising

Patients do not run the risk of ending up without an eye surgeon at Mater Dei hospital if Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca stops practising his profession, according to the head of the ophthalmology department. Thomas Fenech told timesofmalta.com this afternoon that the medical services offered by Mr Mercieca, a parliamentary secretary, have always been offered by other surgeons and will continue to be offered. Mr Fenech said it was wrong to give the impression that certain medical services would not be offered at Mater Dei, or that patients would have to be sent abroad if Mr Mercieca stopped practising his medical profession. Mr Mercieca was given a limited waiver to continue working as an eye surgeon by the Prime Minister, despite the provisions of the ministerial code of ethics which ban any private practice. The parliamentary secretary was quoted by The Times today saying the limited waiver would allow him to follow up cases where he was “the sole medical practitioner in the field”. He mentioned cornea and anterior segment surgery as speciality areas. Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party said the Prime Minister’s decision to allow Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca to...