Successful primary health care depends on teamwork

If primary health care is to succeed in its goal to better serve society, then every player in the field had to stop being territorial and work as a team.

This was the common message and appeal that emerged during a biannual conference themed Taking Primary Health Care in Malta to New Heights.

"We have the government's commitments that primary health care is the prime priority. Mater Dei Hospital cannot function without it, so let's focus on moving ahead," Primary Health Department director Denis Vella Baldacchino said.

The newly-appointed director stressed that unless everybody - from doctors to clinics, nurses, and the community - took ownership of the changes and worked as a team, then the sector would not move forward.

"Let's stop talking and let's act. If, for example, it means opening health clinics at unusual hours, then let's sit down and see how we can achieve this," Dr Vella Baldacchino said.

This was the same argument that Parliamentary Secretary Helen D'Amato made in her intervention.

"Stop trying to protect your empire. It is good to push forward your profession, but it's crucial to unite. Avoid wasting your energies if there can be better coordination. Let's focus on community care for whoever needs it," she said.

John Cachia, Health Care Services director general, also appealed to primary health stakeholders to move away from guarding their territories and open up: It was the only way to succeed.

"The main challenge facing us is the need to take stock of the situation and coordinate our services better to avoid duplication of work. There's a lot of good out there, but we need to work in a holistic and more tangible manner," he said.

Dr Cachia spoke about the constructive work the task force on primary health care and community care was achieving.

The task force has set itself the ambitious target of finalising its working document by November 5, in time for a national conference on the same subject on November 22.

"Your contribution is essential in developing a service that suits the needs and aspirations of service users," he told those gathered at the Westin Dragonara Resort.

Claudia Taylor East, SOS Malta director, pointed out that there were no limits to what a person could achieve if one did not care who got the credit.

She spoke about the importance of civil dialogue and the contribution non-governmental organisations could give to the state in identifying public problems.

Health Minister Louis Deguara, who was unable to attend the conference, sent a message to highlight the importance that reforms within the primary health sector should start as soon as possible.

"It's the government's plan to start implementing these reforms in the coming year to ensure we optimise on the services provided by Mater Dei," he said.

The new Health Care Act, which will eventually abolish the 1937 Ordinance of the Health Department, should put the patient at the centre of every health activity.

"Putting the patient at the centre of our work should be the goal of each and everyone of us," he said.