The government is working on the transposition of the EU Directive on Patients' Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare, which comes into force on October 23 next year, Health Minister Joseph Cassar said today.

The purpose of the directive is to have standard and easier procedures to enable EU citizens to access medical services in other member states.

The government is also working on a law which will consolidate patients' rights and duties, the minister said.

He was speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Mater Dei Hospital and  the Malta Health Network, an NGO, which provides support services to patients.

The MoU was signed on the occasion of Patients' Rights Day.

In an address, Dr Cassar spoke on how people had a right to have their health safeguarded, a right to access for action to prevent medical problems and a right to medical treatment.

The protection of patients' rights was at the heart of government plans which would be implemented in the coming months, notably through legislation, he said However, health protection depended strongly on the quality of the health service and delivery as well as the interaction between patients and professionals.

The government was working to ensure that Malta continued to have a sustainable, quality health service. Central to the government's plans was the modernisation of primary health care in the community, and health prevention.

Dr Cassasr said the memorandum of understanding would make it easier for Mater Dei Hospital patients to discuss their hospital experience with people who were not part of the administration. This service, he said, was separate from the hospital's own customer care service.