A number of health centres have extended their opening hours while three others – a new one in Mosta inaugurated yesterday and those in Paola and Floriana – have started round-the-clock operations.
Inaugurating a €600,000 refurbishment project at the Mosta Health Centre yesterday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said extending opening hours was only possible following a recent agreement with doctors and paramedics and more investment to provide a better service.
He said all health centres would be refurbished and start offering new services to ease the burden on Mater Dei Hospital.
Dr Gonzi said that, while a similar project to the one in Mosta would soon be completed in Rabat, all health centres would be remodelled into mini-hospitals in the coming legislature while two new centres would be built in St Julian’s and Paola.
The Mosta Health Centre has been totally redeveloped and state-of-the-art equipment installed. It includes an operating theatre and there are new services for patients who need plaster after breaking a bone or to treat deep wounds.
Dr Gonzi said it was hoped that fewer people would turn up at Mater Dei if these centres serve as regional mini-hospitals.
The Government has invested heavily in healthcare, with several new initiatives such as cancer screening, a specialised oncology hospital and a range of community services.
He said Mater Dei was performing 13,000 more operations every year than its forerunner St Luke’s Hospital, while the list of free medicines had increased to 1,300 benefitting some 100,000 patients.
Dr Gonzi said the Government was determined to continue to improve the service in the next five years with new investment in the Gozo hospital and the opening of a rehabilitation hospital.
Last year there were some 1.6 million visits to health centres around the island.