I am indeed in awe at the sheer determination with which Jean-Pierre Farrugia has shown that he is overwhelmingly against much of the consultation document on primary health care released by his own government at the beginning of December.

It is evident that he has an intelligent mind of his own and is used to being his own man. It is equally obvious that he has set his own agenda and seems unwavering in his intent to complete it.

I am of course referring to his unstinting efforts to champion the cause of the underprivileged, who form a significant portion of the patient population where he practises, in and around the inner harbour area.

One cannot then help feeling somewhat perplexed at the starkly contrasting views expressed by Dr Farrugia's fellow backbench MP, Stephen Spiteri (The Times, December 24), many of whose patients are similarly underprivileged where he practises in Cottonera.

There is, however, one point in Dr Farrugia's latest contribution that would seem to indicate a lack of understanding on his part of the new realities Malta finds itself in since its accession to the EU.

The time when a doctor's only requirement to practise as a GP was the completion of a two-year internship in state hospitals following graduation is, thankfully, well and truly over.

All over the EU doctors have to undergo vocational training in the speciality of family medicine before being allowed to practise as GPs.

Across the EU, patients have a right to be taken care of by doctors who have completed vocational training and who are duly accredited by the relevant body in their respective country. Only in this way can patients' rights be safeguarded.

Then there is the issue of continuing medical education. How can one expect a doctor to "first do no harm" if, following five years as a student and a further two before being licensed to practise, he/she does not undergo lifelong education to keep abreast of the rapid developments taking place in medicine all the time?

Minimum standards of best practice today are not what they were 20 years ago.

Only by a process of continuing professional development can doctors ensure they deliver appropriate standards of reasonable care to their patients.

It is not my business to push forward or obstruct any political party's agenda. Nor do I have a remit to defend the achievements of the Malta College of Family Doctors.

I cannot, however, fail to highlight the college's tireless efforts over the years to elevate the status of the family doctor in Malta, culminating in the official recognition by government of family medicine as a speciality in its own right.