Dementia sufferers are still not being given the free medicines they became eligible for in February, Labour Party health spokeswoman Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said.

She said at the beginning of the year, the Government announced amendments to Schedule V, which lists conditions eligible for free medication, including dementia.

Since then, dementia patients, many of whom are elderly, had not been given free medication, which could cost €140 a month.

Some did not take the medicines that could help delay symptoms such as memory loss and confusion.

The Parliamentary Secretariat for Community Care said pills would be distributed to patients within a few weeks, adding Government initiatives had included investing €9 million in a dementia-friendly ward at St Vincent de Paul hospital.

It is estimated 4,500 people in Malta suffer dementia. Only about 500 can afford treatment, often using the Malta Community Chest Fund, according to a study by EU-wide NGO Alzheimer Europe.