An extra €2.3 million have been voted in yesterday’s Budget specifically to address the problem that has been dogging Malta’s healthcare system: waiting lists. Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said this was part of a record €378 million allocation being invested in the health sector, a €13 million increase over the previous year. It was in line with the government’s vision of turning the medical sector into a regional centre of excellence by 2015.
Quoting a review of the situation at Mater Dei, he said 80 per cent of patients described the service they received as very good or excellent, adding that everyone acknowledged the dedication of doctors, nurses and other professionals.
“We are committed to develop our services in the medical sector, both in terms of treatment as well as in terms of prevention. Besides maintaining all the health services provided so far, there are a number of new programmes and projects which address specific sectors,” he said.
A new Oncology Centre that is being built adjacent to Mater Dei Hospital, involving an investment of €14 million, was progressing well, he said, with work on new bunkers to start soon.
Until this centre was ready, work was being carried out at Boffa Hospital so that patients received treatment in a more comfortable environment.
In the meantime, he said, the government was in the final stage of developing the National Strategy for the Treatment of Cancer. A total of 5,000 women had been screened as part of the Breast Screening programme, with 42 of them being in need of immediate treatment. The plan, he said, was to continue expanding the screening services to cover other conditions too.
This year, 16 new medicines were added to the formulary list, 11 of which to treat cancer. He insisted that medicine importers were being paid within the 120-day credit window.
The government now planned to tackle the system used to buy medicines, to address inefficiencies, inconvenience caused to patients and the waste of resources in the distribution of medicines.
“We want to make the free medicine service provided by the government fairer and more accessible to those who are truly in need so as to curtail abuses. We also want to include more medical conditions that are prevalent in today’s society,” he said.
With regard to the pharmacy-of-your choice scheme, which he said was “operating successfully”, Mr Fenech allocated a further €1 million to extend it to other localities and another €400,000 to improve the electronic system on which it worked.
Emphasis was also being placed on primary treatment, with health centres, including that in Mosta, being upgraded to house a digital X-ray machine to do away with the need for patients to go to Mater Dei.
He said the number of cataracts operations had doubled since 2008, increasing from 589 in the first six months of 2008 to 1,160 in the same period this year.
Between January and August, 27,898 operations were performed at Mater Dei Hospital, 4,940 more than carried out in the same period of the final year of operation of St Luke’s Hospital, an average of more than 20 operations a day.
Touching on the human resources aspect – the perennial problem at Mater Dei – Mr Fenech said the government was aiming to increase the number of professionals but was also aiming at training and qualifications according to the highest standards.