Nationalist backbencher Frans Agius has joined colleague Jean-Pierre Farrugia in criticising the primary healthcare reform White Paper, which, he said, was still “raw”.
Dr Agius, a family doctor, said there were several points on which he had “big reservations” but insisted that he could not commit himself on how he would vote about the reform in Parliament.
Dr Farrugia was more straightforward on his intentions when, in an email to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi last week, he warned that he would not vote for the proposed health reform in Parliament.
In the e-mail, which he circulated among all the PN parliamentary group, Dr Farrugia also complained about the way the Cabinet reshuffle was made.
Another backbencher, Robert Arrigo, expressed reservations about the reform too.
In a statement yesterday, Dr Farrugia declared his loyalty to the Nationalist Party led by Dr Gonzi. In his e-mail, Dr Farrugia complained that Dr Gonzi had “never lent him an ear in 14 years”.
Dr Farrugia said yesterday he had had sent his e-mails only to Dr Gonzi, the members of the PN parliamentary group and the PN general secretary, pointing out that somebody else had leaked it to the press.
He said his e-mails had been intended to stimulate internal debate in a parliamentary group, which had not met for two months.
Contacted yesterday, Dr Agius said the White Paper was still at the initial stages of discussion and a lot had already been changed. However, more had to be done, he said.
Asked to give examples, Dr Agius said he was primarily against the registration of patients system being proposed. “The patient should be at the centre of this reform,” he said.
Dr Agius said he had been insisting that doctors in polyclinics around the island had to have a role in the reform too.
Other medical practitioners within the PN parliamentary group include Stephen Spiteri and Louis Deguara. The latter, a former Health Minister, was abroad yesterday and so could not answer questions by The Times.
Dr Spiteri did not reply to calls by The Times but, in an opinion piece published in The Times in December, he made it amply clear that he agreed with what was being proposed.
“The newly-proposed primary healthcare system has been designed to guarantee that the patient is given the best care possible. In my opinion, patients will benefit greatly from the new registration system.
“Patients, through the family doctor, will be able to access medical services and care, as well as medical records and history, in an individualised and personalised manner. Is this an efficient service? Is the patient, who must always be at the centre of the whole system, benefiting? I think everyone knows the right answer. Through the proposed reform the patient will now have a direct link with the health system.”
Reacting to Dr Farrugia’s comments in the e-mail he sent Dr Gonzi, Health Minister Joe Cassar said substantial changes to the proposed healthcare reform would be made even if the patient registration system remained central to the government’s plans.