Daqxejn ohra lanqas internet ma jhallulna naraw.

Yes, that is the relevant point here. She comes from a liberal democracy, unlike Malta which is a ‘smajt ma’ smajtx, rajt ma’ rajtx’ country.

Paradoxically, it was these very liberal democratic ideals that were promoted so vociferously by the PN over the course of 25 years of almost continuous government, that eventually led to their downfall.

The MLP used these tendencies and the whole new generation of liberals (by liberal I mean the original meaning not the bastardised simplistic version most people understand it to mean today) became complacent and fell for the lie from what is essentially a totalitarian party.

Did I understand correctly? Was the whole issue about a crack in the wash-hand basin and no soap holder? Or did I miss something?

Committees don’t solve anything. There are strong vested interests in keeping the status quo. The government needs to pay medical staff decent salaries (which are not heavily dependent on on-call commitments) and revamp clinical systems so they meet the minimum standards of this century. For that you need leadership, not sitting around in committees.

The current situation at Mater Dei leaves much to be desired – there’s a defensive culture that is led by the ministry because of its close involvement with it. It’s an attitude that simply has to stop.

My feeling is that ultimately the hospital should not be shackled by such interference from the ministry, but should be managed as a separate entity (after all what on earth does that I-fixed-A&E-muppet know about hospital management). Standards could be set by an independent monitoring board with bonuses given to the hospital when it performs well and fined when it fails audit. Much like is done in the UK.