Medical specialist Alec Lapira said the Opposition’s proposal to extend the application of the EU cross-border healthcare directive to private hospitals in Malta was a “brilliant and cost-effective idea,”

He was referring to a motion presented in Parliament yesterday in which the Opposition requested an amendment to the legal notice regulating the EU directive.

The directive allows Maltese patients who do not receive treatment in Malta within a reasonable timeframe to seek State-funded treatment in another EU country.

The motion aims to remove a proviso stating that the treatment of Maltese patients cannot be given in private hospitals in Malta.

Dr Lapira, who is an ENT specialist, said this would safeguard patients’ dignity and tackle waiting lists. The waiting lists for cases of dizziness ranged between 16 and18 months, he said, adding that he had been involved in the pro-EU accession campaign.

He was speaking during a Nationalist Party activity in Birkirkara held as part of the campaign leading up to the May 24 MEP elections. Yesterday’s event focused on health care.

This would safeguard patients’ dignity and tackle waiting lists

Opposition spokesman on health Claudio Grech said the party worked towards political consensus on healthcare issues in the interest of patients and the 11,000 people who worked in the sector.

Chris Delicata, vice president of the Malta Diabetes Association, said that as the father of a diabetic boy he wanted to see politicians work together to raise awareness and have better structures, screening and prevention measures.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil spoke about the statement issued by “the courageous” pharmacist Denise Ellul who insisted she witnessed cases of patients being discriminated against when it came to the distribution of medicines – despite the government claiming this was not the case.