Trouble brewing now at a second CareMalta home for the elderly

“Vague contractual obligations”, according to Active Ageing and Community Care Minister Jo Etienne Abela, for the running of the Zejtun home for the elderly have left the home’s air conditioning system faulty since last year and the home’s residents sweltering through the recent heatwave and the continued summer heat.

In the meantime, the situation led Minister Abela to give directions weeks ago to seek an “urgent” legal solution from the courts.

The Zejtun home, like the recently-closed-for-refurbishment home for the elderly in Cospicua, is run by CareMalta and appears to have suffered from the same ambiguity in its original contract, leading to arguments over responsibility for maintenance at the home.

The contract for the Zejtun home, however, does not expire until 2027 so there is no possibility of the government transferring its residents while refurbishment work is undertaken– as had been the case with the Cospicua and, earlier, the Marina Palace home in Msida.

The Shift is informed that, in a bid to remedy the situation, Minister Abela has directed court action to be taken to solve the contractual impasse.

Moreover, the terms of the new tenders being drafted for the operation of the new Cospicua and Msida homes “will be very tight and onerous for any contractor”.

The Shift has contacted CareMalta for comment but a reply was not received by the time of publication.

The ministry has confirmed with The Shift that it could only supply the Zejtun home with portable air conditioning units and even with those in action, temperatures inside the home were as high as 32 degrees during last week’s heatwave.

Correspondence seen by The Shift between the ministry and a complainant shows that, as in the case of the Cospicua home, responsibilities for the home’s maintenance are vague and CareMalta insists the air conditioning system falls under the ministry’s remit.

“This is totally and absolutely unacceptable service from whosoever is responsible,” the letter from a complainant, which the minister replied to personally, said.

“If it is not the ministry’s responsibility, why not do as the private sector does and make sure that your partners are delivering what they promised? Or is it the case that it is the ministry’s responsibility but the money that is taken from these vulnerable old people’s pensions is spent elsewhere?

“Whoever is responsible had all winter and spring to attend to this issue. Instead, it was ignored, already in mid-summer, experiencing the first real heatwave at the expense of the elderly, most of whom are indoors all day in the heat while still paying the full service from their pension as normal.

“Giving the elderly a fan in a corridor or a portable AC with the hose dropping out of an open window does not solve the problem. In fact, it’s a waste of money and not cost-effective.

“This is their home. They live and sleep there.”

The ministry has informed The Shift that it is doing its “utmost to help with portable air conditioners and fans, which is the best possible option in the present situation”.

Last week, in the thick of the heatwave, the ministry launched emergency daytime respite services in its “better-maintained facilities”.

The ministry insisted that the closure of the Msida and Cospicua homes over the past 18 months “was no idle or frivolous exercise”.

Minister Abela said he was averse to “politicising such matters and using older persons as pawns on a chess board, which is utterly distasteful and unethical”.

He added, “Let me assure you that the government is committed to delivering top-quality services to all residents, without distinction.

“It may appear that the wheels are going slow but they are definitely turning.”