The National Commission Persons with Disability (KNPD) criticised a Labour Party proposal to restructure part of St Luke's Hospital to house people with a disability who do not have the necessary support from members of their family.

"KNPD, which, in its majority, is made up of disabled persons and parents of disabled persons, has always maintained that the place of all disabled people is within the mainstream of the community. To this end, it has always insisted that the best interests of disabled people and their families are best served by providing all necessary support in the community through individualised services and the setting up of small residences for severely disabled people within the community," the commission said.

"Persons with disability certainly cannot look forward with any degree of enthusiasm to the prospect of a future lived largely within the confines of the former St Luke's General Hospital," it said.

On Tuesday, the Maltese Council of Disabled Persons expressed concern at the proposal, fearing the measure could amount to institutionalisation.