Robert Xuereb, the former head of Mater Dei’s cardiology department recently appointed as the new CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services (FMS), will be allowed to continue his private practice, potentially earning him much more than his predecessor, Carmen Ciantar.

The Shift is informed that in addition to his €122,000 yearly package, sourced from government coffers, Xuereb was also given special permission by the government to continue his private practice, where consultants typically earn up to hundreds of thousands a year.

In 2020, Prime Minister Robert Abela publicly stated that he would not allow government CEOs to work in private practice while occupying a senior government position. This will not be the case for the new FMS CEO.

A spokesperson for the Health Ministry confirmed to The Shift that while Xuereb will no longer serve as the clinical director of Mater Dei’s Cardiology Department, he will still be able “to keep up his highly specialized interventional cardiology practice at Mater Dei Hospital and that his contract does not preclude him from private practice.”

This departure from the Prime Minister’s directive will effectively mean that apart from his new full-time job as CEO of the FMS, Xuereb will continue to see patients privately and serve them later at the Mater Dei facilities.

Xuereb’s private clinic.

Medical consultants told The Shift that this will mean that Xuereb will likely continue to earn hundreds of thousands a year through his private practice while working full-time for the Foundation for Medical Services.

“When combining his two jobs, which the government allowed him to retain, Carmen Ciantar’s €163,000 package, although still exorbitant and scandalous, is peanuts next to what Robert Xuereb will be earning,” they said.

Ciantar, the chief canvasser of former Health Minister Chris Fearne, was put on an extraordinary financial package at the Foundation for Medical Services without experience or qualifications. Abela later instructed Ferane to re-negotiate her package, but the then-Deputy Prime Minister failed to do this.

Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela proceeded to remove Cinatar from her post when he replaced Ferane earlier this year.

Health Ministry sources said that soon after his appointment, Xuereb insisted that he would also keep the chairmanship of the cardiology department as well as his new position at the FMS.

Yet Xuereb was forced to relinquish the chairmanship, now filled by Tiziana Felice – another cardiologist – on an acting basis.

Robert Xuereb and his wife, Cardiologist Mariosa Xuereb, operate their private practice from The Heart Clinic in Ta’ Xbiex.

He is also an active member of the Marigold Foundation, the ‘charity’ presided over by Michelle Muscat, the wife of disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.