Priorities in public health sector
The budget debate invariably stirs public interest in parliamentary affairs. This may be regarded as mere hoo-hah to a wake-up call by the administration of Enemalta, or it may be considered a time of reckoning enabling the ordinary citizen to assess...
The budget debate invariably stirs public interest in parliamentary affairs. This may be regarded as mere hoo-hah to a wake-up call by the administration of Enemalta, or it may be considered a time of reckoning enabling the ordinary citizen to assess the performance and vision of the government.
In the case of the discussion in Parliament on our public health service one is struck by the non-committal attitude of the minister responsible.
He is studying the difficult matter of shifting part of the funds derived from the National Insurance contributions to the specific sector of health-care provision.
He is considering whether health insurance should be run on a public or a private insurance basis.
He is still making up his mind whether all health services should be completely free.
In fact, not surprisingly for a layman, he still has an open mind on a number of major public health issues.
The most pressing task is for him to identify the top priorities and to channel resources towards making an impact on these crying needs. The matter of the 'scandalous' waiting lists for certain operations and outpatient consultations should be one of his major preoccupations and such projects as setting up a PET scan service put on a back burner.
Definite targets for reducing waiting lists should be established and idle and precious resources such as empty operating theatres and hospital wards harnessed by recruiting more nurses and doctors.
Health insurance should be placed on a national and universal basis and health services should not all remain completely free. The UK has moved on since it introduced the Beveridge NHS health care concept, and we should not hang on to outworn 1948 national health care practices for petty partisan politics .
These are some steps our health authorities should take to improve the lot of our population. That is not to say that much is not already being done even at this time of retrenchment and world financial crisis.