Let me through! I'm an eye surgeon who wants his supper!
Gozo Channel took its time, but at long last it’s released a statement in the matter of eye surgeon Franco Mercieca and priority boarding.
He sounds like a right so-and-so, a true picture of arrogance, which some on-line commenters really need to have redefined for them.
timesofmalta.com, this morning
Gozitan consultant did not reapply for priority pass – Gozo Channel
System had to be reviewed as it was being abused
The priority pass system on Gozo Channel had been introduced when traffic between Malta and Gozo was considerably less and there was sufficient capacity on the vessels to allow doctors the privilege of boarding ahead of the queue, Gozo Channel said this morning.
It was referring to recent statements by Gozitan consultant ophthalmologist Franco Mercieca who said he was having to cancel operations as he was not granted priority boarding.
Gozo Channel said in a statement that doctors who applied for the privilege, filled in a form where it was clearly stated that the applicant had to present for boarding 15 minutes prior to departure.
This requirement was to ensure that boarding would not have yet commenced.
It was not normal, if the system was properly implemented, for vehicles to be left behind because a doctor boarded early.
“Due to the fact that vehicle and passenger movements have increased significantly, the priority system had to be reviewed, as vehicles were being left behind due to priority boarders, giving rise to complaints.”
The company said that complaints, in some instances specifically against Dr Mercieca, included that privilege holders would turn up just minutes before scheduled departure, when boarding would have commenced, and insert themselves into the loading stream, displacing and irritating drivers who would be prepared to board.
“Furthermore, contrary to the spirit of the privilege granted, some pass holder, amongst them Dr Mercieca, would use their pass to jump the queue on the return journey, when no reason for priority existed.”
Because of this, the system had to be reviewed and all priority pass holders were asked to reapply, something Dr Mercieca did not do, Gozo Channel said.
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Who does he think he is? He wants to have his cake and eat it. He wants priority boarding and arrives late for it too.
He did not even apply for priority boarding and still he expects to get it.
And we who are daily commuters must stay behind because an eye surgeon needs to commute as early as possible to save eyes.
Is this the way he thinks he’s going to get votes? By arrogant thinking, talking and queue-barging?
Another Anton Refalo (Gozo MP) in the making?
He intends to get votes with a programme on RTK. The daily commuters left behind can tune in as they wait for the next ferry.
This is the attitiude of one of the PL’s super canditates for 2013. I wonder who are the arrogant politicians. This is what we will get if we vote labour or don’t vote at all next election.
The ‘usual suspects’ commenting on timesofmalta.com are mostly blaming Gozo Channel and the queuing system and ignoring the abuses by Dr. Mercieca himself.
Why would a brilliant and respected surgeon like Mr Mercieca feel the need to perform such daft , unedifying ,attention- seeking antics in public?
Medics should be tending to their patients not playing the fools on political soap boxes.
Simple:
1. He is a PL candidate
2. His main wish is that he does not get elected but that the PL gets in so that he can then aspire for better positions within the Mater Dei pecking order
3. As the saying goes – Any Advertising Good Advertising = increase in private patient numbers
4. NPD
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110904/letters/Don-t-shoot-I-m-just-a-doctor-messenger.383144
I understand Mr. Mercieca’s explanation in my direction at the above link as denoting that a priority pass for his good self is necessary because of “logistics regarding the practice of ophthalmology in the Maltese islands.”
I now wonder whether a priority pass for Mr. Mercieca is one of the demands, which the Medical Association of Malta includes in its most recent plea to the respective authorities in Malta.
The politician wants to be in the limelight. And the ophthalmologist wants to keep his private practice or Paga Doppja by PL standards(one man one job was Mintoff’s battle cry).
Most probably he was abusing the system: wakes early in the morning, arrives late while the cars are boarding the ferry, jumps the queue, goes to his part time work at the state hospital, ends his consultations and operations by 13.00, jumps the ferry queue again to the frustration of fellow Gozitans and back to Gozo to have a nap and open his private clinic by 16.00 to be at home by 19.30 for supper.
Chris, when are we going to have that tunnel?
F**k the tunnel, and f**k Gozitan regionalism. A minuscule 9 by 14 mile rock with a “region”.
Can you imagine: no minister for Gozo , no double isolation, no workers going an hour earlier from work to catch the ferry, no double offices of all ministries, no Gozo Courts, no emergency helicopter flights with patients, no whining about a deprived island bursting from the seams with cash in the banks, no emigration to Malta.
Spot checks by local wardens, police, health inspector , Vat inspectors, ETC inspectors would not be done by the locals.
No high maintenance costs when compared with the fleet of Gozo channel ferries. Come to think of it we can wrap up Gozo Channel when we have the tunnel.
Tunnel will be done when pigs will fly, how gullabile are the people of these islands? None has ever mentioned the maintenance cost of such a dream,and that what the tunnel proposal is. As for a fine doctor not being able to perform his duties because of which party he might run for is vile and shows how incompetent Gozo Channel is,but then again this is Malta and it’s not what you know but who’s butt you’re kissing;most in favour of the tunnel suffer from seasickness,the good doctor ‘s ability speaks for itself no need to have the PL platform to back him up.Now thar you have it,dreamers.
HAWK
Dear Leo
I came across a quotation you might find interesting;
‘The modern gentleman is not the man who knows how to be polite; he is the man who knows how to be rude in an entirely gentlemanly manner’.
By the way next time you come over let us see you!
Dear Peter Pan,
I graciously acknowledge the fact that your good self might lead the gang known as the “Lost Boys” on the small island of “Neverland”.
The quotation, which you care to offer me, is interesting.
In my humble opinion, however, the issue in Mr. Mercieca’s story is neither one of being a polite gentleman nor one of being “rude in an entirely gentlemanly manner”.
Fact is that truth hurts. I surmise that you have read what I wrote elsewhere in the direction of Mr. Mercieca (vide my earlier link) . One remark, which I made towards Mr. Mercieca, also holds for your good self, namely, that the nature of the reactions forthcoming convinces me that my respective arguments are most probably correct.
Last but not least, thank you for your kind invitation to come and see you. You may nonetheless appreciate that it is absolutely impossible for me to visit an anonymous individual.
This pipsqueak’s sense of entitlement is breathtaking. Having said that, it’s not as if Giovanna Debono has set the bar particularly high for whoever from the opposition wishes to replace her.
That’ll be Justyne Caruana.
I’m no expert in medical practices but if the surgeon is going to work on a normal day he should wake up early like the rest of us and make sue he boards in time to be at hospital on time to start his day’s work. If there is a real emergency shouldn’t he be brought in by helicopter or if anything do we need to bring in a Gozitan for an emergency in Malta?
I understand that an emergency is an emergency but shouldn’t Mater Dei have enough staff on its roster to cater for most emergencies? i’m assuming that a real emergency for an ophthalmologist is extremely rare. On the other hand Gozo Channel need to clear up the mess as it seems that the surgeon has now published certain documents to substantiate his claims which makes the whole saga sound like a vendetta by someone.
Who is telling us the truth?
Franco Mercieca is an arrogant s.o.b., and I say this from experience.
This guy thinks that he’s someone that should be looked upon, by us ordinary mortals, as some kind of superior being.
This twerp with a 30 inch inner leg and a 48 inch waist is now a PL maybe, so he thinks that he should be given priority when boarding the ferry as his patients might miss their appointment.
Perhaps he should tell us whether he has ever left his patients suspended so as to be able to watch an Inter-Milan match.
Troy seems not to like Mr. Mercieca. Not an excuse for using derogatory remarks about physical appearance.
I know Mr Mercieca to be a patient and caring physician, so for him to have been arrogant towards Troy the level of provocation must have been significant.
Finally, Mr Mercieca is a keen Juventus fan and I cannot imagine him leaving patients to see a football match let alone a match involving the Milan clubs.
Dr.G, I know that Mr. Mercieca is a Juve fan and the reference I made was to the Inter Juve game that he went to watch with his mates.
Of course Mr. Mercieca is a patient guy. For example you could get a quick appointment with the busy eye surgeon if you call one of his mates in Malta and say that you need a favour.
He has a serious attitude problem.
http://www.stannesclinic.com/outpatients.aspx
He also has to fit in a private clinic in Malta on Mondays.
There are times, when one has to be fair, prudent and benevolent.
On Mr. Mercieca’s internet site, one can find following transcript, which denotes that Mr. Mercieca had indeed re-applied for a priority pass:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/onlyinmalta/mercieca_1.jpg
http://www.francomercieca.com/
My mother had a eye operation by Mr Mercieca 2 years ago. A follow up was necessary and Mr Mercieca was at Mater Dei at 7am on a Sunday. This is why he needs a priority pass, so that he could be early to perform these ops.
[Daphne – How about he wakes up early enough to be on time? It’s not like there’s a huge flow of traffic from Gozo to Malta on Sunday at 7am. And why do you have this peculiar notion that surgeons have to be on time for work but others don’t?]
Two months ago, my mother had another op in her other eye. She was called by a nurse at Mater Dei hospital, telling her that she was going to have her op at Capua. My mother asked if Mr Mercieca was going to be her surgeon, but the answer was that another surgeon was to operate.
Comparing the op at Mater Dei to the one at Capua, my mother said that she would have prefered to be operated by Mr Mercieca at Mater Dei. He is a very good surgeon, dedicated and has lot of patience.
A friend of mine, said that the priority pass was denied to Mr Mercieca because he has shown his true colours, by stating that he will be contesting the election in 2013.
It is the tax payer who is paying for this. A simple priority pass is costing the govt (and the tax payer) hundreds of euros in private ops at private hospitals.
Mrs Daphne Caruana Galizia to give all her titles less one. Which is What.
She hardly knows her grammar. She confuses adjectives with nouns, at least in a foreign language.
A contributor wrote for her attenrion a paragraph in French, because she boasted to have got an “A” at O level.
She confused the noun “public” with the adjective “publique”
She even pointed out that it was a mistake to write “public” and it should have been written “publique” a classical mistake of people who cannot differentiate a noun from an adjectif.
That was a real mistake and she boasredof her “A” in O Level.
This Mrs has graduated in a subject she does not like to reveal. Why? because of all subjects to be taken at the Unmiversity only zaallows her to use the shovel