Volunteers will add a human touch at health centres across the island, thanks to a new agreement signed on Tuesday.

The agreement, between non-governmental organisation SOS Malta and Primary Healthcare Malta, is for the provision of voluntary assistance.

SOS’s healthcare arm VolServ will launch a pilot project at the Floriana Healthcare centre, with the services eventually being rolled out at other centres across the island.

VolServ already runs a similar service at Mater Dei Hospital, clocking in more than 8,000 hours of assistance every month.

“The idea is to add that human element to the service provided at healthcare centres. It’s something that makes all the difference to patients, but which doctors and nurses - with their heavy work load, cannot always do,” Health Minister Chris Fearne said.

He explained how the government made a financial contribution to SOS Malta to facilitate the provision of the services.

“This is a great example of civil society rolling up its sleeves and helping society,” he said.

The agreement was signed between VolServ's Claudia Taylor East and Primary Healthcare CEO Roseanne Camilleri.