There are 1,107 people on the waiting list to be admitted to one of the eight government homes, which together have 1,000 beds.

A total of 822 people are waiting to take one of the 1,129 beds at the government’s St Vincent de Paul home.

Government homes for the elderly have an occupancy level of 98 per cent while St Vincent de Paul is nearly full with only seven empty beds at the time the figures were compiled.

Homes for the elderly owned and run by the Church are also almost full with an occupancy rate of nearly 95 per cent, the same rate as privately-operated homes.

These figures are worrying, said the President of the National Association of Pensioners, Moses Azzopardi.

“Smaller houses should be built in the village cores.” He added that if community services had to be improved, waiting lists would be considerably reduced. The crisis is also a concern for Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea, who said the government was taking action to provide more space where the elderly who need constant care can live.

The government was currently modernising Zammit Clapp Hospital in St Julian’s, which is expected to create 100 beds for people who require long-term care similar to that provided in a home for the elderly.

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