An international medical conference entitled Patient Safety - Developing Strategic Approaches, is being held at the Radisson Hotel, in St Julians, today and tomorrow.

Mater Dei Hospital is supporting the conference, which is organised by the Medical Association of Malta, together with the Commonwealth Medical Association and the Commonwealth Secretariat on Patient Safety.

To mark the launch of this event, a lecture was given yesterday by Joseph Amuzu from the Commonwealth Secretariat on Anti-Retroviral Medication For The Commonwealth People at the Outpatients Department of Mater Dei Hospital.

Delivering the intorductory remarks Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that over the last decades the Maltese have enjoyed high standards of health care which is resulting in longer life expectancies and continuous recognition by the World Health Organisation, which described Malta's health care as one of the best and most cost effective health systems in the world.

Referring to the Mater Dei Hospital project, Dr Borg said the building is to become the pride of the Maltese people and of all those who have the health care professions at heart.

"Mater Dei Hospital is soon to become Malta's world-class 825-bed general acute hospital. It is a state-of-the-art facility representing a statement of commitment of the government towards the health of its people," he said.