A healthy commitment

The mission of the Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care is to promote the health and well-being of the population through appropriate policies by offering comprehensive high-quality health and long-term care services. This calls for a great deal of investment by the government in the health sector.

The opening of the Mater Dei Hospital in the coming months will bring about a quantum leap in the quality of delivery of health services. However, the Mater Dei Hospital project is just one in the chain of health care developments taking place in the health sector.

Plans are underway to transfer oncology and dermatology services from Boffa Hospital to the Zammit Clapp Hospital facility. The success of the rehabilitation service at Zammit Clapp Hospital has spurred us to take the necessary decision to construct a new rehabilitation facility at Luqa in the grounds of St Vincent de Paul. This will provide the much-needed increase in capacity for the rehabilitation needs of the elderly and a holistic rehabilitation service for persons under 60.

Much work has been carried out to ensure that elderly persons needing residential care receive this in a caring manner and in a dignified environment. Whole wards and wings have been embellished within St Vincent de Paul. The project for the construction of a home for the elderly in Mellieha, through an innovative public private partnership approach, is also underway.

We recognise, however, that infrastructure without competent human resources would be a failed investment. We are continuing to build on the strengths achieved thus far and are bolstering our training capacity by forging new partnerships such as that with MCAST to provide the much needed care workers.

At the other end we are rolling out a training programme for general practitioners and embarking on the development of structure post-graduate specialist training for doctors. I am sure that with the proper determination and collaboration, we can make of Mater Dei and our health sector a centre for specialist health-care training in the Mediterranean. For this to happen we must enlist the full support of our existing specialists. We are, therefore, working carefully to ensure that specialised health-care workers have the necessary incentives to stay in our health sector and work efficiently for the benefit of patients.

The ministry last year adopted its national strategy for health and long-term care following widespread consultation. The three main pillars of this strategy are enhancing equity, promoting quality and ensuring sustainability.

Our over-riding priority remains that of ensuring that people remain as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Our focus on health promotion and disease prevention will continue to be stepped up. We are currently working on several policy documents that will form a basis on which to draw up strategies on cancer, sexually-transmitted infections and other non-communicable diseases.

Ensuring sustainability remains the biggest challenge to be tackled. We are continuing to set up systems that will ensure value for money, transparency and accountability. For this purpose we are setting up a Financial Monitoring and Control Unit. We are also taking steps to ensure adequate and sustainable funding and an appropriate supply of health-care workers.

Currently, Malta's total expenditure on health is around one tenth of our GDP. The health sector provides employment for thousands of Maltese. Employment in the health and long-term care sectors is set to continue to grow.

In the past years, we have witnessed the development and growth of the pharmaceutical sector, a sector that is almost entirely export oriented. Malta is making a name for itself as a hub for the pharmaceutical industry. This success can be achieved in other areas including bio-tech and e-health technology.

It is an exciting time for the health sector in Malta. The migration to Mater Dei and other infrastructural developments continue to generate enthusiasm and motivation. The next phase will see our efforts focusing on human resource development and a shift of focus towards community care services. We cannot achieve all this alone, we want to hear your views and ideas!

Thus, everyone is invited to a discussion on the health sector as part of the preparations for the pre-budget document. This will take place this evening at the Auberge de Castille, in Valletta, at six.

Dr Deguara is Minister of Health, the Elderly and Community Care.