A set of patient rights and responsibilities, which includes specific timeframes within which people should receive treatment, has been launched, and will start being implemented in a year.

These timeframes include a two to four hour waiting time at the Acccident and Emergency Department, and a maximum period of 12 weeks for specialist-led treatment or intervention in urgent cases.

The Patient's Charter - a first for Malta - also lists responsibilities for patients, as data shows that one fifth and one third of appointments at health clinics and Mater Dei Hospital respectively, are lost when patients do not inform the health entities that they will not be able to make it.

Speaking at the launch, Health Minister Chris Fearne noted that the biggest challenge with the launch of this charter was going to be a change in mentality, in other words, a cultural change.

Speaking from his experience as a doctor, he noted that traditionally patients could not challenge their doctors, and the latter could, in some instances be patronising.

Nowadays, a patient could find out about their condition's treatment within a couple of days, by looking up the symptoms online, he noted.

Patients should also have a right to access their file and records, and change their consultant.   Although this was possible at the moment, the process was rather bureaucratic and the patient needed the permission of their current consultant, Dr Fearne said.

We are putting our money where our mouth is. In this charter we are setting treatment timelines... And there are also remedies if these timelines are not adhered to. Patients would be able to seek treatment privately and this would be reimbursed by the government- Minister

The Minister also noted that the authorities were holding themselves accountable, and the government was convinced that the majority of services will be provided within timelines set in the charter.

"We are putting our money where our mouth is. In this charter we are setting treatment timelines... And there are also remedies if these timelines are not adhered to. Patients would be able to seek treatment privately and this would be reimbursed by the government."

He also referred to the patients' right to a healthy life. Most of the illnesses were to a large extent preventable, he added.