Cardiologist steps down as investigation focuses on her breach of rules

A senior cardiologist at Mater Dei Hospital has resigned after The Shift revealed she was breaking the rules while her husband was Chair of the department.

Mariosa Xuereb resigned from service and “is currently on her pre-retirement leave” as an investigation initiated by the health ministry’s permanent secretary focused on her private work.

In May, The Shift reported that Xuereb had been abusing public service rules and her employment conditions for years, offering her services at her private clinic in Ta’ Xbiex.

Xuereb had obtained permission from the government to work on a reduced-hours contract after stating that she could not work full-time due to a medical condition.

Permission was granted, and Xuereb started working at Mater Dei only two mornings a week. However, she continued to work at her private clinic, seeing patients almost every day between 9am and 10pm.

According to established rules, consultants on a reduced-hours contract are precluded from any private work.

While she was doing this, her husband, Robert Xuereb, was chairman of the cardiology department at Mater Dei where his wife worked under his supervision.

The private clinic in which she offered her services while claiming to have a medical condition – Heart Clinic in Ta’ Xbiex – is owned by the couple.

Patients confirmed that they were given appointments by Xuereb to see them at her private clinic, even at 10pm.

“Following The Shift’s report last May, an investigation was launched by the Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, and it was becoming quite clear that the details produced by The Shift were true,” government sources said.

They added that Mariosa Xuereb was advised that it would be better if she left the public sector and continued to practice at her private clinic in Ta’ Xbiex to avoid further complications, as she would have probably been found guilty and forced to refund what she received in breach of her contract. For some reason, the ministry did not continue with the probe after Xuereb submitted her resignation.

Her husband, Robert Xuereb, was appointed by the Health Ministry as the new CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services and put on a €122,000 annual salary.

Unlike other government CEOs, Xuereb was also allowed to keep working at his private clinic and continue seeing his patients at Mater Dei.

Both Robert and his wife Mariosa are also shareholders of Prime Sites Development Ltd, a construction development company together with other partners.