I refer to Fr Peter's Perspective (The Sunday Times, December 20) regarding my criticism to the proposed family doctor scheme.

The PN's electoral programme, to which I subscribe fully, reads: "We need to focus on primary health in the community so that we can have an organised health system which can handle the individual needs of patients. We need to link doctors' clinics with health centres and Mater Dei Hospital, by means of e-medicine. Here a patient who goes to his doctor or to a health clinic, if necessary, will have medical information saved at the time of the visit so that the family doctor of the health clinic can diagnose more effectively and decide on a suitable cure that can be given on a family level and avoid the unnecessary queues at hospital.

"This system makes it possible to consult a specialist at Mater Dei at the same time of the visit. This way we can decentralise the health system and develop further the health service within the community."

I also agree that as a consequence, for confidentiality and data protection purposes, patient registration with a GP or group practice would be mandatory.

I have been questioning waiting lists at Mater Dei, both as far as non urgent surgery (13,225 patients for just five particular procedures - PQ 10,705), as well as the more preoccupying undiagnosed new cases at outpatients (2,262 new cases have an appointment more than six months away - PQ 13,405), but I cannot see how preventive primary care can reduce these lists.

On the other hand, my question in The Times (December 7), "Are households earning €150 weekly and hence are pink card holders not also our concern?", is in agreement with Prof. Serracino Inglott's "regrets that the present proposal introduces the means-testing that he and the collaborators that had been appointed to work with him in the summer of 1987 on the family doctor scheme had made it a principle to avoid".

I cannot vouch for "the attitude of some doctors at that time influential within the PN", though I cannot recall my late father, for one, in any way perturbed as I am now - particularly because the dynamics have changed considerably.

Then, the percentage of the numerous graduates in Medicine and Surgery opting for general practice was still high enough to make it possible to engage junior doctors. Not any more. And though I believe that, had Fr Peter's proposals been taken up, better family practice would have been established by now, the cost of the proposed GP scheme would have shot up and the resulting financial deficit could even have affected EU and subsequently euro membership.

Now, the government is proposing to renounce its duty in this basic essential sector, resulting in greater pressure on the 150 full-time doctors, mostly middle-aged, who will inevitably raise their fees considerably for less quality time with patients.

The PN electoral programme does not infer in any way that the direct service of public sector family doctors will be restricted. Replies given to PQs I tabled confirm their output - 1,345 home visits last January and 41,111 consultations in local clinics in the first quarter this year.

The best way forward is to encourage better time management; educating patients to have self-discipline in seeking more what they need rather than what they wish. The consultation document has none of this. Besides, our society cannot afford to waste medical resources by having hundreds of company doctors used solely for verification purposes.

Industrial estates and several government departments should fit into our economies of scale. Shipyard workers had this opportunity some years back. Obviously, the worker must approve and the clinics be regularly monitored to ensure they emphasise patient care.

Moreover, while countries like Japan are even recruiting doctors on pension, here we are not only still demanding the highest grades for students to choose medicine, but for the past five years a mandatory three-year training course has been set up for a graduate to be allowed to work as a GP.

I thought five years as a student and a further two before being licensed to practise were enough to learn the ethic "First do no harm"!