The level of Malta's public healthcare system is still way below that of the most advanced EU member states and has been ranked in 23rd position out of 34 European countries according to the latest results of an EU-wide Health Consumer Index published this morning by the European Parliament.
Compared to an identical study published three years ago, Malta has managed to improve its performance and gain three position in the ranking (26th in 2009) - mainly due to improvements in the waiting lists for operations.
However, according to the authors of the survey, "Malta stays in the low end" when compared to the rest of the EU, with a system "lacking transparency, weak patient rights and mediocre medical outcomes."
The sixth edition of the study, conducted by Health Consumer Powerhouse – a Swedish think-tank – ranks the Netherlands as having the best public healthcare system in the EU followed by Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium.
In all of the top-ranking countries, the public healthcare system is not completely free of charge as it is in Malta.