Why did Mr Zarb Adami see fit to talk about a patient’s private details?

Published: August 13, 2014 at 6:15pm

Joseph Zarb Adami, Mater Dei Hospital’s Taghna Lkoll clinical director, spoke to the press in the aftermath of the helipad fiasco and said that the patient – whose name and identity had been made public already by that time – did not die because of the cock-up.

“He would have died anyway,” Zarb Adami said. “His haemmorrhage was so big.”

Lovely. Since when and in what civilised context has it become all right for hospitals to disclose a patient’s details to the press, without the consent of the family?

The usual, proper response is always: ‘We do not disclose patients’ details. It is this hospital’s policy not to discuss individual cases or release details without the consent of the individual involved or his or her family.’

What is worse, of course, is that this breach of privacy and unseemly manner of discussing a patient’s death appears to have been done expressly to cover their Taghna Lkoll bottoms.

“OH, HE WOULD HAVE DIED ANYWAY,” says the hospital’s clinical director. In other words, stop making a fuss and blaming the Taghna Lkoller who parked on the helipad. That must have gone down like a lead balloon with the grieving family.

And now a reader has raised a point far more salient than the horrid way the hospital’s clinical director has dismissed Ino Attard’s death. See the comment that came in, below.

———-

Please do not a accept any bull that ‘the patient would have died anyway’. If that was certain, why was he booked for transfer?

A patient is never transferred to Malta to die, is he. Logic, ethics and proper use of health resources tell you that a patient is only transferred if the place he is to be transferred to is deemed able to give some sort of advantage to him.

Otherwise why risk the lives of everyone on the flight, the chopper and spend the money for fuel etc. while making the end of life so much more traumatic for the patient and family.

Being transferred into a vehicle then a helicopter and then another vehicle is not exactly what we see on Grey’s you know – risks multiply. The stress on the patient is enormous. Why do it if, as Zarb Adami claims, he was definitely going to die anyway?

If the Ministry of Health states that patients who will not benefit at all are still transferred to Malta then we should all accuse them of misusing our taxes to cause pointless pain and suffering.

There are innumerable ways to issue statements about this without really giving useful information. Was this a thrombolitic stroke or a haemorrhagic stroke? What intervention, all of which are time sensitive, was planned or were there still more investigations to be done in Malta? Is an MRI available in Gozo for example?

Heads should roll but they are firmly attached to bodies with a huge sense of entitlement. Many people’s middle name has become ‘gode l’immunità’.




54 Comments Comment

  1. Joseph Izzo Clarke says:

    Please forgive my lack of medical knowledge, but shouldn’t Gozo hospital be able to cater for these cases in the first place?

    • Arnold Layne says:

      That’s hardly the point, is it?

    • anthony says:

      Definitely not.

      That would be a sheer waste of resources.

      Craig Hospital already offers too many services for a community of 30000 odd.

      The answer is fast, efficient and reliable copter transfer to Malta.

      That is what is practised in the civilized world.

      But then in that world helipads do not double as carparks.

    • follower says:

      What Mr Attard needed was specialised care. Gozo’s hospital is only a regional hospital and does not cater for neuro surgical patients.

    • I just have to say it again, and again- Bazwar lhemm, u bazwar lhawn- l-importanti li naslu- Hawadbni ha nifmek-

  2. eve says:

    X’faqar ta’ diplomazija. La skond id-direttur, xorta kien se jmut setghew hallewh kwiet l-isptar ta’ Ghawdex mdawwar mal-familjari.

  3. chico says:

    Daphne

    First thing that crossed my mind when I read this. Shameful. And did the Times of Malta “journalist” choose to harass Zarb Adami for this grossly unethical and unacceptable behaviour? No points for guessing.

  4. vanni says:

    “He would have died anyway,” Zarb Adami said.

    Using that particular logic, we should do away with hospitals, docs, nurses etc all together.

    • Len says:

      The patient was not transported to Malta to die, he was sent to Mater Dei Hospital to be seen by a specialist and if his condition permits he will be operated upon by a neurosurgeon.

      Only the neurologist can decide whether to operate or not.

      Also note that most consultants or specialists will be on call and not necessarily on duty at Mater Dei Hospital. By the time the helicopter is on the way from Gozo the consultant on call will leave his private office or home.

  5. Natalie says:

    This reader is correct. I believe a CT scan is available at the Gozo General Hospital and the diagnosis would have been instant.

    A haemorrhagic stroke is often difficult to treat. There are two options: surgery to stop bleeding and decompress the brain or conservative management. Surgery is quite rare and is undertaken only when there is a reasonable possibility for success.

    A neurosurgeon would be have been contacted by the Gozo doctors and he would have seen the scan on a programme which is available on the hospital computer network. The surgeon would have then taken the decision for transfer.

    Patients undergoing conservative management do not need treatment at Mater Dei Hospital. Treatment can easily be given at any hospital and occasionally even at home.

    • Carmelo Micallef says:

      Was the computer hospital network working?

      • Natalie says:

        I’m quite certain it was. MITA usually sends out an email a couple of days before announcing downtime on PACS and often it’s not for more than an hour in the middle of the night. The reason would be some upgrade or maintenance.

        If PACS stops working, the whole health department is in semi-panic mode.

  6. Jozef says:

    This is sick.

  7. Not Sandy:P says:

    Is anyone running this bloody country or are they all off on a Hemiltin Crooze?

    Konrad Mizzi is responsible for health and energy. That makes him directly responsible for the blocked helipad and the nation-wide power failure.

    There’s a magisterial enquiry because a parked car blocked the St Lukes helipad, but it was called only because a patient died.

    What use would an empty helipad be in pitch darkness, with or without any parked cars?

    Minister Mizzi has a lot to answer for. How can we be sure the two incidents won’t happen again?

  8. Under Labour Anything Goes says:

    Another blunder by the Ministry for Energy and Health. Suppost il Ministru guru tal-management. Fenomenali tassew.

    • Jozef says:

      What’s unacceptable is how these Zarb Adami types will do anything to protect him.

      Even treating patients as numbers.

  9. bob-a-job says:

    Family friends of the deceased who happen to be my friends as well were shocked at the announcement made by Joseph Zarb Adami.

    And these don’t happen to be negative PN voters either.

  10. Alexander Ball says:

    Well, we all die anyway so why not speed up the process.

  11. The basic explanation for the unacceptable statement by the clinical director of Mater Dei Hospital is that there are no moral or ethical limits when it comes to defending this administration or covering up its incompetence.

  12. RF says:

    Are four days not enough to track the driver who parked by the helipad gate? The ambulance personnel must surely have taken note of its make and registration.

  13. Clifford says:

    Has anybody asked why the three top persons at Mater Dei Hospital had to travel to Castille to speak to the press, when they are all stationed at the hospital? I suspect that they were briefed what they should say.

    “He was going to die anyway.”

  14. Perplexed Borg says:

    ITU staff are no longer needing to listen to all the Zarb Adami swearing.

  15. anthony says:

    It is a great pity that a competent physician like Joseph Zarb Adami should publicly make a fool of himself for the sake of his political allegiance.

    Medicine and politics do not mix.

    He should know that much.

  16. David says:

    Dr Zarb Adami is, as far as I know, a highly competent medical specialist, and therefore I trust his judgment in medical matters. The helipad should be closed except when it is in use. In any case it is prudent to await the conclusions of the inquiries being held.

    • La Redoute says:

      Zarb Adami’s professional indiscretion is unquestionably unethical.

    • Josette says:

      This is not a question of his competence as a medical specialist but of his ethics as a doctor. Doctors are bound by patient confidentiality, which he breached. Additionally, there is a magisterial inquiry taking place and his statement could unduly influence its conclusions. Sorry, but I have lost any respect I had for Joseph Zarb Adami and any trust in him not discussing a case with all and sundry.

  17. David says:

    Another point. The patient was not being transferred to Malta but medical specialists were being sent to the Gozo hospital.

    [Daphne – No, David. The medical team is sent out to bring back the patient.]

    • Natalie says:

      I ask you David, what use is there by going to see the patient when there are no available facilities to do what you need to do?

      And where on earth did you read that specialists were going over to Gozo instead of the other way round? What’s the helipad scandal all about otherwise? Do try and use your brain once in a while.

    • bob-a-job says:

      David, kif ma gibx wahda zewg.

  18. Pablo says:

    The car at the helipad has a number plate. So the owner is known. The secrecy surrounding this car points to one conclusion.

    The “would have died anyway” is clearly an indication that the bastard who parked his car there is a well known, high up, arrogant bastard of the in crowd. And no one asks the obvious question.

  19. Peppa Pig says:

    We all have to die anyway at one time or another, Dr Zarb Adami. So let’s do away with the hospital clinical director, right?

  20. Mandy says:

    The reason for Zarb Adami’s statement can only mean one thing – that the person who parked that car on the helipad is very ‘important’.

  21. Felix says:

    I await the family’s reaction to this tragedy.

  22. Gaetano Pace says:

    Now we have a flagrant offence being publicly denounced and which clearly did break the public good order and the public peace. Since this is a contravention as is the illicit parking cum obstruction, it carries a prescription period of three months.

    Now the clock started ticking.

    What is Manuel Mallia going to do about it? Chalk it down as being modern politics? Or will he not interfere with police duties? What has his chief of staff do? Play cowboys and Indians and shoot the case out of the window?

    My mind recalls “Mhux fl-interess tal poplu li jkun jaf.” So I need no modern politics of a loud talking spokesman, nor do I need modern policy makers to see the road map to oblivion of those criminal cases that are left sinking down the drain.

  23. Mister says:

    Whilst someone with his “Mhux xorta” parking attitude parked as close to his office as possible…. another person was fighting for his life.

    “He would have died anyway” is not good enough for the family of the patient….. of ANY patient for the matter.

    The media is more concerned about the ‘parking’ issue than the patient himself.

    This is a HELIPAD we are talking about. It has to be ready for action in the blink of an eye in case of ANY emergency be it medical, civilian or even national.

    Its not very assuring to make it known that our country has helipads which arent even guarded or wired with cctv.

    Where was it said once… that to over-run Malta all you needed was one helicopter and a few commandos? Thats National Security for you.

    Bring on the Tanker Tal-Gass…. lets see what security buffer that is going to have.

  24. Francis Saliba MD says:

    Zarb Adami’s statement is an insult to the intelligent public inside and outside the Malta Taghna Lkoll divide.

    The bottom that is being protected by the ploy of these stupid conflicting statements, silly excuses and the proposed inquiry must be a big bottom with a very big stench.

  25. michael seychell says:

    Through this medium I want to inform or rather confirm that even he and I and all mankind are going to die, the only thing we do not know is when and where.

    I feel certain that Zarb Adami, having such a position at Mater Dei Hospital, would get the best service possible.

  26. Francis Saliba MD says:

    I would amend my previous comment thus:

    That car must belong to some “bighead” with a matching stinking big “bottom” that badly needs protection.

  27. edgar says:

    If the person who parked the car is a PN supporter, his picture would have been on the front page of Times of Malta and the Labour press.

  28. Paddling Duck says:

    A very important question needs to be asked here.

    This is not the first time in the past few weeks that a patient’s file was leaked.

    A clear case of that was when the Libya Hostage’s file was leaked to l-Orizzont.

    Why didn’t the family sue Mater Dei and ask for some kind of investigation?

  29. White coat says:

    The MTLkollers’ brigade could not do otherwise. If an honest magisterial inquiry were to find that the patient died because the parked car on the helipad then the magistrate would have to recommend to the police to apprehend the person who had impeded the landing of the air ambulance and accuse him of negligent homicide due to breaking the law, same as when one causes death due to negligent driving

  30. White coat says:

    Now Joseph Muscat’s cabal has graduated from Malta-Taghna-lKoll to We-All-Have-to-Die-Anyway brigade..

    Nice progress in 1.5 years, innit?

    Where’s the shadow minister comingOdown like a ton of bricks on Konrad and his cronies? And that includes the good doctor Parliamentary Secretary for Health who cannot recite his Hippocratic oath

  31. saviour Farrugia says:

    the comments by Zarb Adami are unethical to say the least but if not why not publich the name of the “STRONZO” who parked the car on the helipad and the “ASSHOLES” who allowed it to happen. Kellna par idejn sodi u tlifnihom

  32. Matz says:

    As far as i know protocols that arise on a helipad serving a hospital, dictates that there should be a team of personnel responsible for it, and these have the authority to clear the area if a helicopter needs to use it.

    In this case, these persons were duty bound to either have the car towed, or else break into it & push it to safe distance.

    When a helicopter leaves, it has to communicate its destination, thus this team would have been notified and had enough time to check out the helipad and clear it.

    So it leaves one to wonder, even if an idiot used this area to park a car, the situation could have still been salvaged, so why no one took action?

  33. ketchup says:

    Goodness, how insensitive this Zarb Adami guy is. I wonder what he had said had the person being transferred was a relative of his. I can bet my everything that he would have screamed his top off for heads to roll, but in this case he fond it ethical to name the patient but not the driver of the car.

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