Funds for cancer screening were halved in the Budget but the doctor heading the centre yesterday insisted this did not impact on services offered.

Nadine Delicata, who heads the national cancer screening programme, said theprogramme’s budget was cut as a result of capital expenditure that came to fruition.

“With the second breast screening machine now operational, the capital requirements to fully equip the centre came to a close and the reduced budget had no impact on the services offered to patients,” Dr Delicata said. She was asked by The Times about the reduction in funds at the end of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s visit to the centre at Lascaris Wharf in Floriana.

In this year’s Budget the Finance Minister allocated €1 million to the cancer screening programme, which was less than half the amount allocated the previous year.

Dr Delicata said the centre, which started off as a breast screening clinic in 2009, evolved into a cancer screening facility.

Screening for colon cancer started last year and screening for cervical cancer will be offered in 2014.

Moving in line with EU recommendations on cancer screening for vulnerable groups, Dr Delicata said Malta was at the forefront of preventive cancer treatment with the acceptance rate for breast screening reaching 71 per cent.

In a brief statement after meeting staff members, Dr Gonzi thanked them for the work done with patients.

He said a fingerprint of this legislature was the Government’s efforts to improve the fight against cancer.

“This centre is testimony to that. We also increased the range of cancer treatment drugs offered on the national health service and started work on a new cancer hospital.”

Later, in a visit to the Medical Illustrations Unit at Mater Dei Hospital, the Prime Minister said the overall budget for healthcare had this year been increased by €38 million to reach €465 million.

He said the Government wanted to keep providing the best possible healthcare services free of charge but emphasised the need for the country’s finances to be kept on a sound footing.

The growth in healthcare services, he said, was only possible through the recruitment of additional staff and in the past legislature the Government had succeeded in creating the right conditions for junior doctors to specialise in Malta without the need to go abroad.

The €2 million Medical Illustrations Unit – a new concept for Malta – was set up recently.

Manager Brian Cassar, the first Maltese to hold a degree in medical photography, said medical staff were increasingly using the unit’s services to document medical conditions and the progress made by patients during therapy.