Government reviewing regulation of free medicines

The government is currently assessing which drugs should be given to patients for free, with a view to adding medicines to the current list.

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joe Cassar told The Sunday Times that the government was also looking at the law regulating the list of free medicines, though he could not give a date for the conclusion of the review.

He said, however, that it was impossible to offer every existing medicine for free as this would have an adverse effect on the country's deficit.

Dr Cassar urged people to understand that ultimately it was their taxes that funded free medicines. In recent years, several patients have complained that some potentially life-saving drugs are not among those dispensed for free.

In fact, an increasing number of patients have been contacting the Malta Community Chest Fund to help them fund expensive medicine.

Last year the Breast Cancer Association said there were women who had to take out loans to pay for their drugs.

Dr Cassar also addressed complaints about certain patients staying for long periods at Mater Dei Hospital - it is only supposed to deal with acute cases - saying a discharge plan needs to be devised even before a patient is admitted since many are frail and would not be able to return home without difficulties.

"The only way we can find a solution for these intermediate and long-term care patients is by making sure that our community care services start working in the right way, including having support services for patients who are discharged."

While he believes that Mater Dei has enough bed capacity, the hospital must be used for the purpose it was designed. "This means that the patient needs to be able to return home a few days after surgery.

"Since this is not always possible, it creates a problem with the number of beds. This can only be resolved with good community care services."

Asked about the long waiting lists for non-urgent operations like joint replacements and cataract operations, Dr Cassar said although Malta was not unique in this, the government was planning to propose solutions.

Good community care services could also help ease the burden on hospital's Accident and Emergency department, which last year saw close to 112,000 patients, more than 70 per cent of whom had not been referred by a doctor.

Dr Cassar said a good percentage of patients who present themselves at the emergency department without a referral could have been treated by their family doctor.

Strengthening government health centres could go a long way to reducing the load on the hospital, but he said the public must be willing to co-operate.

"Some patients go to the health centre to have their prescription renewed and get angry when the doctor offers to examine them.

Can you imagine having studied for years and being treated in this way?" he remarked.