Former health minister Godfrey Farrugia appealed today for health issues to be driven away from partisan politics.
Writing in Times of Malta, Dr Farrugia said healthcare services have to develop in synchrony, with primary and community healthcare as the cornerstone of any healthcare system, he said.
"The key to any success lies in empowering the health consumer through health promotion and prevention and to deliver more personalised healthcare, which is primarily community-oriented and where each individual takes care of one’s well-being.
"We have to transform our present strategy from ‘one size fits all’ to ‘one size fits one’ and redefine our health performance outcomes from one of medical diagnosis to one that is hallmarked by wellness goals."
To achieve and implement these health status objectives he said he strongly believed, both as a politician and a healthcare professional, that health should be driven away from partisan politics.
“We must shift to models that encourage consensus across party lines, increase healthcare professional collaboration, increase public ownership and team up with NGOs in public-social partnerships.
He said the set-up of the Parliamentary Working Group on Diabetes, which he chairs, aims to achieve a more coherent policy focus on diabetes and identify a proposed action plan that will be put forward to be included in government’s National Strategy for Diabetes.
“The prevalence of diabetes in Malta is 10 per cent and with many risk factors associated with non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, on the rise, the present forecasts do not augur well if the projections remain unchanged.
The ultimate objectives of this parliamentary working group is to analyse and forward a policy that determines pathways to prevent and diagnose diabetes.
Devising and implementing a national awareness plan and screening programme would go a long way towards ensuring access to quality treatment and preventing complications in diagnosed patients.
What holds for this chronic ill health will likewise hold for other prevalent chronic diseases.
The emphasis should ultimately be on motivating people to cherish their health and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.
Education from an early age can go a long way towards instilling an innate culture of healthy living in the upcoming generations but incessant, effective public health campaigning has to reinforce this positive ambition towards achieving and retaining an optimum state of well-being.
Nothing else can replace prevention as the pinnacle of any health strategy, Dr Farrugia said.