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Opposition health spokesman Joe Cassar yesterday called on Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia to explain how the Government would keep its electoral promise that health services would remain free.

Dr Cassar was speaking in Parliament on the Opposition’s motion to thank the President for his speech at the inauguration of the legislature.

He asked the minister to deny that patients at Mater Dei Hospital were to be requested to bring free medicines under the Pharmacy of Your Choice (POYC) scheme for personal use during their stay in hospital.

He also called on the minister to deny rumours that arthroscopy (knee) operations, currently carried out in private hospitals but paid for by the Government, were to stop.

He said the health budgetary vote had always been in deficit but the previous government had found ways and means to finance the sector through budgetary votes taken from other ministries.

One would have expected the Government to have, at least, presented its plans for primary care

Free health services were reduced when the Government ended the agreement for private hospitals to provide free emergency treatment to patients during the weekend because it was not cost-effective.

He said the Government felt that financial cost-effective-ness was more important than patients’ interest.

Dr Cassar questioned whether the Government truly believed that setting up office in the Emergency Department would solve any problems in the health sector. Did it realise that in so doing it had undermined and embarrassed the hospital’s management?

For years the Labour Party in opposition had been saying it had things all mapped out, how it would be tackling excessive waiting times and out-of-stock medicines. But now the minister had said there was a real problem with the former. Dr Cassar said he had been saying this for a long time.

Dr Cassar said that one would have expected the Government to have, at least, presented its plans for primary care. What was to become of the regional hubs? Where was the financing to come from? While not expecting things to be solved, he did at least expect to be notified of the Government’s vision, as it had 25 years to come up with this.

The PN in government had signed various agreements, such as the collective agreement and partnerships with the private sector, to set about solving problems such as excessive waiting times. He said he had asked various PQs, only to be told the reply would be given at a later sitting.

What did the Government plan to do about a rehabilitation hospital, if it would not be opting for St Philip’s?

Concluding, Dr Cassar said it had become clear that the President’s speech was offensive to the Opposition and the Government should now accept the PN amendments proposed to the motion.