The reform of the 1976 legislation related to mental health remains in the offing six years after the government first started working on it, a professional working in the field has complained.

The process got stuck along the way and the draft law has been at the Attorney General's Office for the last year, a sign of the government's lack of commitment, according to Doris Gauci, the CEO of Richmond Foundation, an NGO that provides community mental health services.

Ms Gauci was speaking to The Times on the occasion of World Mental Health Day tomorrow, insisting that the Mental Health Act is a "top priority", albeit not necessarily recognised.

The fact that it is not a government priority is evident from the amount of legislation that has been fast-tracked through Parliament, Ms Gauci said, also pointing out that the law on mental health dates back to 1976.

Moreover, the law is based on the 1959 Mental Health Act of the UK, which has since been "reviewed and come full circle, while we have not even started," Ms Gauci stressed.

"Every time we ask we are told it is at the AG's office. How long is it going to remain there? And when can Malta say it has a Mental Health Act that befits the Maltese?"

Ms Gauci said various people have been working on the Mental Health Act for at least the last six years. The National Commission for Mental Health, which no longer exists, had gone through the whole public consultation process, which, eventually fell by the wayside.

The updated law would ensure, among other things, that community care is a patient's fundamental right and would spur the government to do more on the matter, she said.

She pointed out that community care is by no means an innovative idea, which makes it more difficult to understand what is holding Malta back.

When contacted, the Parliamentary Secretary in the Social Policy Ministry, Mario Galea, said mental health was, indeed, a priority. However, he would only say that the law was being reviewed, without giving deadlines.