Most European healthcare systems are at a crossroads. Along with another 11 European countries, Malta is no exception and faces specific EU country recommendations.

The public perception of healthcare has changed and is still changing.

A fast developing industry of technological medical aids, more innovative pharmaceuticals, widespread online access to health information and research have resulted in higher demands.

Moreover, it is the public’s desire to have a more holistic, national healthcare system within a set-up of a synergistic public-private health mix, where the pillars of equitable access, quality assurance and sustainability are safeguarded to the highest standards.

No matter how strong any nation’s economy is, such a situation is not easy to achieve unless the government is also backed by a sound Health Act, standardised health outcomes and a cost-effective health system assisted by e-Health and an ongoing process of monitoring of the overall health performance.

Sustainable budgets have to be dovetailed within a health strategy.

There are no short-term fixes.

Indeed, this has influenced a number of governments to reform their management processes and introduce more evolved, best clinical practices while concurrently adopting ‘a whole society approach’.

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.

All four levels of healthcare services have to develop in synchrony, with primary and community healthcare as the cornerstone of any healthcare system. Ultimately, this is smarter spending as it invest in the citizens’ well-being.

To achieve and implement these health status objectives I strongly believe, 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.

Health should be driven away from partisan politics

The set-up of the Parliamentary Working Group on Diabetes, which I chair, 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.

It is a well-known fact that the Maltese population is an ageing one because the island has a low mortality rate and poor population growth.

The fertility rate has declined. The leading cause of death is cardiovascular disease and this accounts for 45 per cent of all deaths, with diabetes playing a major role as a contributing factor to this silent killer.

The mortality rate of diabetes as a direct cause of death hits the 3.4 per cent mark.

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.

It is common knowledge that type 2 diabetes can be prevented and kept in check by leading an active lifestyle and eating a healthy diet, where variety and portion control are crucial.

It is also a known fact that early diagnosis of the other types of diabetes can go a long way towards minimising complications.

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.

Proactive management of diabetes and its co-morbidities will, in time, reduce the use of more costly acute secondary healthcare services.

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.

Godfrey Farrugia is a Labour MP.