Medical care and treatment in Gozo

On April 17, the Malta Health Network, made up of over 25 patient group representatives, held a workshop on patient rights at the Malta Hospice Movement, in Balzan. The aim of the workshop was to bring patient associations and medical experts together to raise awareness and exchange information on the issue of patient rights in Malta.

The availability, or lack thereof, of medical treatment and care in Gozo was brought up in nearly every presentation. Nearly all the patient groups present declared that the resources available in Gozo were not sufficient or required improvement. The Richmond Foundation believes that this is especially so in the case of mental health, where facilities are inadequate and patient support services are deficient.

It was also acknowledged that Gozitan patients do not make enough use of the support services available in Gozo. The Malta Hospice Movement has been present in Gozo for over 20 years and yet, sees a limited number of patients seeking help. The Coeliac Association had to abandon efforts in Gozo due to low turn-out. These associations have cited Gozitan patients' fear of having their medical problems "found out" by others - a symptom of the so-called omertà that comes with living in such a small place. Some patients in Gozo have even resorted to seeking kidney dialysis in Malta, despite it being offered Gozo, to keep their medical condition secret.

Although it might be true that a proportion of Gozo's population might prefer to turn to their own families for help and support or even actively seek treatment in mainland Malta, this is no excuse for the lack of medical treatments available to patients at the Gozo General Hospital. Indeed, it may be argued that patients in Gozo see little point in seeking the help of patient support groups when the treatment itself is not even offered locally.

The Breast Care Support Group articulated the dire state of affairs that cancer patients living in Gozo face and insisted that there are no logical or practical reasons why radiotherapy and chemotherapy have not yet been introduced in Gozo. Cancer patients need plenty of rest and should not be exposed to excessive sunlight or spend time in crowded places. Acute illness, coupled with strong treatment, invariably causes a person to feel weak and frail and, therefore, might seriously impede the patient's ability to travel.

It is deplorable that patients living in Gozo have no choice but to travel to Malta daily for months on end to receive treatment. This not only causes inconvenience to the patients' families but can only hinder the patient's recovery.

The most basic patient right is that of having adequate access to high quality healthcare, regardless of where the patient lives. It is imperative that greater efforts are made to enforce this right not only in mainland Malta, where a state-of-the art hospital is up and running and where further health care reform is being planned out, but on Gozo too. To have a difference in standards between regions of such a small country would be unacceptable.