John Dalli: Put distance between politicians and administrators at Mater Dei

Former Minister John Dalli said this evening that one of the suggestions he is making about Mater Dei Hospital is to put as much distance as possible between politicians and the administration of the hospital. Speaking on TVM's Dissett, Mr Dalli referred to his report on the state hospital, due to be published next Saturday. He said that the report was a snapshot of the current situation, a definition of the problems that existed, which was the first step to their resolution. Mr Dalli said that on having returned after having served as Health Minister for 18 months after the 2008 election, he found that matters had changed only slightly, but some problems had worsened.  There was a serious lack of management, administration and control. In a hospital where €190m were spent, apart from depreciation of €40 million, there was lack of accountability for the funds. There was scant monitoring of how contacts were awarded, how the inventory was managed, purchasing and, importantly, personnel management.  Unfortunately, Mr Dalli said, reforms which he had started had been shelved. He had sought to introduce an accounting structure, proper costings, and a computerised system for the...