Primary health care revamp 'one of solutions' to hospital problems

A consultation process on primary health care was due to kick off "soon" and the government was also working on a national plan for cancer care, Health Parliamentary Secretary Joe Cassar said yesterday.

The planned revamp of community care will focus on equity, accessibility, efficiency, accountability and sustainability.

Dr Cassar said the overhaul would include the setting up of group practices made up of doctors, nurses and other health professionals who would administer the first care within the community. It would also rope in family doctors as the link between the patient and hospital care.

He said such group practices would have real-time access to electronic patient records, be able to order tests and also see results.

Speaking at a public dialogue in Cospicua, Dr Cassar said doctors within the community would be able to write prescriptions that would be directly processed through the pharmacy of your choice scheme.

"In health care we are always thinking about excellence," he said.

Dr Cassar said he was aware of the problem of waiting lists for operations, the Accident and Emergency Department and about the problem related to the collection of pharmaceuticals. One of the solutions lay in revamping community care, which, in turn, led to lower mortality and less need for chronic care.

He refuted that there were any waiting lists in cancer care, something that existed in other EU countries, adding that the new oncology centre planned for Mater Dei was a "dream becoming a reality". The authorities were working on a national plan for cancer care, something that took time because excellence was imperative.

Dr Cassar said that while there were still issues that needed to be addressed at Mater Dei, thousands of people were being treated in hospital every day and the number of operations had also increased.