The national healthcare system is unaffordable, does not reach its objectives and does not give dignity to the patient, Chamber of Commerce president Anton Borg told the Prime Minister in a meeting this morning.
Testament to the failure of the current system were the unrelenting efforts of the President of the Republic in reaching out to the generosity of the Maltese to provide financial support to those in need of live-saving treatment, Mr Borg continued.
The annual financial requirements being catered for by the Malta Community Chest Fund are in the region of €4 to €5 million.
“It would be seem unreasonable to think that the country cannot find this amount of money to ensure better dignity to those in need,” he said, adding that those in need needed to be able to obtain support from a structured system rather than from ad-hoc charity efforts.
The healthcare sector in Malta must break away from the political arena, he said, adding that the Chamber had proposed the setting up of a bi-partisan standing committee on health under the chairmanship of the President, which proposal has so far been ignored.
UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM IMPORTS
Mr Borg said the business of over half of the Chamber’s members is being severely undermined by the uneven playing field which exists with regard to the sea borne importation of goods.
“The situation that continues to be condoned by the competent authorities is one of erratic and inconsistent enforcement of importation regulations, coupled with an inadequate structure to enforce the same regulations.
“This creates a channel of abuse by those who choose to circumvent rules and regulations and operate below the radar.”
FINANCE
Mr Borg also highlighted the “serious difficulty” a number of businesses were encountering when opening bank accounts for foreigners wishing to operate in Malta.
In response, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he was “equally disappointed” with some of the players in Malta’s financial system, especially with one particular player that could play a much better role but “decided to put everything on the backburner”.
Referring to the healthcare system, Dr Muscat said he wanted it to be a sector which produced growth and granted patients a better service. The government was aiming to attract foreign patients to Malta to be operated on and to use the subsequent revenues to finance the healthcare system.