One of Malta’s most promising fashion designers joined the wedding scene

Feb 14 2022

Promising fashion designer Jayden Curmi, the young mastermind behind the fashion brand JAY, has just joined the wedding scene and we’re in love. Jayden had already established himself as a talented and innovative fashion designer in the local scene, coming up with fresh designs for each of his collections.

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Now, he’s unveiled his latest designs for bridesmaids awaiting their friends’ special day. The custom made bridesmaids dresses are made out of the finest tulle with butterfly patterns and look absolutely stunning. The dress also came in a small size for little girl bridesmaids, and it is one of the most adorable things we’ve ever seen. Jay himself thanked those who chose his work to give their wedding state-of-the-art clothing.

Looking like something straight out if a fairy tale, the designer also shared his sketches for the bridesmaids dresses and documenting the process of what became the final product.

Interviewed on MaltaDaily ‘MFiles’ last year, Jayden had opened up about how he progressed in the local fashion scene, expressing his love for the craft and how he plans to become a mainstay in the industry. And considering all his already released work, he is definitely on the right track!

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Marigold Foundation celebrates 8th Anniversary with donation of new Heart Machine

Feb 14 2022

The first ever Cardiac Awareness Campaign in Malta was launched by The Marigold Foundation (TMF) on St Valentine’s Day, also marking the foundation’s 8th anniversary.

To emphasise its commitment to this new cause, TMF donated a state of the art high end Echocardiogram machine, a Philips EPIQ CVx, to the Department of Cardiology at Mater Dei Hospital. This cardiovascular ultrasound system offers advanced imaging of the heart and can identify even small changes in the pumping of the organ at a very early stage.

Highlighting a striking comparison, Cardiologist and Marigold Board member Mr. Robert Xuereb said that while Covid 19 took the lives of approximately 500 persons in a year, heart attacks still kill over 1,000 persons annually in Malta. Apart from this, cancers and their related therapies most often affect the function of the heart, possibly leading cancer patients to subsequently suffer from heart conditions.

The machine donated today will help prevent and treat the cardiovascular consequences of cancer therapy in a more timely manner. The machine will be used in the recently set up Cardio-Oncology Clinic led by experts from both the Department of Cardiology and the Department of Oncology.

Michelle Muscat, Chairperson and Co-Founder of TMF stated that the foundation’s pillars of health, social and education are all fulfilled through such an initiative.

The Cardiac Awareness campaign aims to educate the general public on the importance of staying healthy and knowing the signs of one of the major killers on the island. This forms part of an educational trail through Marigold’s series of campaigns. Apart from this, funds that are gathered through public fundraising are being used to serve the same general public when and where it needs it most.

Mrs Muscat said that The Marigold Foundation believes in the advancement of every citizen in this country and in bettering everyone’s lives through knowledge, education and support services thus ensuring that the Sustainable Development Goals advocated for by the United Nations are reached through the hard work of voluntary organisations such as The Marigold Foundation.

Present for the press conference were Ms Celia Falzon, CEO Mater Dei, Dr Nick Refalo, Chairman Department of Oncology,
Dr Alice May Moore, Cardiology Resident Specialist, lead in Cardio-Oncology, Dr Jeremy Fleri Soler, Cardiology Higher Specialist Trainee, with special interest in Cardio-Oncology and Ms Michelle Cassar, Charge Nurse, Cardiac Lab.

The Cardiac Awareness Campaign runs from Monday 14th to Wednesday 16th in the heart of Republic Street, Valletta where the general public is invited to visit and learn to take care of one self and how to prevent early deaths. The campaign is organised by The Marigold Foundation in collaboration with the Maltese Cardiac Society and with the support of the Museum of Archaeology.

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PN candidate calls on Mount Carmel CEO to invite journalists into hospital

Feb 14 2022

PN candidate Julie Zahra has called on Mount Carmel CEO Stephanie Xuereb to invite journalist into the mental health hospital in order for them to witness first-hand the conditions within. Writing in an open letter on Sunday, Zahra suggested that press members should be given the opportunity to visit Mount Carmel, either freely or accompanied by a member of staff.

Speaking in a short video on Facebook, Zahra said that she asked Xuereb to invite journalists, camera people, photographers and other members of the press to openly enter Mount Carmel. She said that this should still be done with respect of the patients’ privacy, but that the press should still be able to enter.

Mount Carmel has long been criticised for its ‘far from desirable’ conditions, with Malta’s Commissioner for Mental Health urging hospital authorities to upgrade their protocols, facilities and services last year. He had stated that a number of reforms in the mental health sector were delayed for too long, and appealed to health authorities to realign the work agreed upon in the Mental Health Strategy and proceed with implementation.

The state of the hospital was revealed in a 2018 auditor’s report in which the Auditor General remarked that mental health and the island’s only mental health hospital ‘are still considered as secondary priority when compared to the rest of the local public health sector.’ The Nationalist Party had pledged to close Mount Carmel during a press conference last June. They had promised to create a specialised hospital integrated with Mater Dei Hospital, with Mount Carmel transformed into a public open space.

Later, 2022’s budget promised to modernise Mount Carmel Hospital by renovating the first block and building a therapeutic garden instead of the shuttered block 10. This will accompany a new psychiatric hospital that will be built next to Mater Dei, with Finance Minister Clyde Caruana saying that the new building will be ready in about four years.

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Government to cover all IVF medication expenses till June

Feb 14 2022

Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Sunday that the government will be covering all medicine expenses incurred after January 2022 of couples undergoing IVF.

The government will be refunding expenses relating to IVF medication through a grant for all couples. The scheme is backdated to the 1st of January and will be in place until new medicine arrives in June this year.

Abela announced this during a political event in Tarxien, saying that the January period meant the start of another IVF cycle for prospective parents. He said that ‘these couples told us how important it was to see the legal changes needed for this opportunity to become parents in Malta. In the recent past, it was the norm to have to leave Malta for this opportunity.’

So far, IVF procedures at the public hospital are carried out for free, saving up to €15,000 in expenses. However, the hormone therapy which is needed before the IVF procedure is not free of charge. This could cost up to €3,000 for each cycle.

Abela said that despite the Maltese government providing more than other countries when it comes to the procedure, a lot of money is still spent on medicine. He revealed that he spoke to Health Minister Chris Fearne on the government procedure to buy IVF medicines, saying that it is a technical process that involve public procurement regulations.

‘It takes time. But for couples undergoing IVF we know that time is against them. They can’t afford to wait because of bureaucracy. Every day counts’ he said.

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