Zammit Clapp Hospital is likely to house the rehabilitation hospital, which was destined for St Vincent de Paul, and the Gżira health centre, given the "unwelcoming" state of its current premises.

Social Policy Minister John Dalli said yesterday that studies on the possibility of relocating both of them to Zammit Clapp were in the final stages.

Zammit Clapp Hospital's use was freed up when it was decided that the oncology facility will be housed in Mater Dei Hospital, in a new extension.

Mr Dalli was "not pleased" with the state of affairs at the Gżira health centre, admitting it was unwelcoming not only for persons with disability. Moving it to Zammit Clapp was the most practical solution, he maintained.

He was speaking at the launch of the annual report by the National Commission Persons with Disability, which highlighted that accessibility remained the biggest issue. The report has to be submitted in terms of the Equal Opportunities Act.

The largest number of complaints was again related to accessibility, amounting to 45 per cent of the total received in the year under review.

Commission chairman Joseph Camilleri said only slight improvement was evident in modern developments and original plans were rarely reflected in the end result.

A prime example of poor accessibility was the Gżira local council office - one of the three cases taken to court by the commission - because it was located on the first floor and had no lift.

Another case was against the Education Ministry with regard to the fact that some learning support assistants refused to administer medicine to children with disability in schools. Yet, Mr Camilleri was hopeful the case would be resolved, saying most assistants were forward-looking and cooperative and only a minority were afraid to shoulder the responsibility.

The matter revolved around liability and the commission was "trying to rationalise what it asked the assistants to do, offering them their superiors' support".

Complaints regarding employment were expected to grow as more young adults with disability left mainstream schools with similar skills and attitudes to others and started seeking employment, Mr Camilleri predicted. These were likely to encounter problems on the job. The report showed that in the eight years since the law came into force, the commission investigated 703 complaints - a seven-per-cent drop in new complaints was registered this year.

Complaints regarding education marked a substantial increase, and revolved mostly around computer schools, Marianne Debono, manager of the Equal Opportunities law sector within the commission, said.

Mr Dalli said discussions on the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disability were finalised and the report would soon be passed to Cabinet and eventually ratified.

He stressed the need for a culture change with regard to persons with disability and related taboos, believing this challenge could be overcome in the next two generations.