Malcolm Galea, Doctor of Medicine
When it comes to healthcare projects, there are no doubts from the government. It is the Nationalist Party that is casting doubts in a frantic effort to undermine anything that the Labour government has not only promised but is actually doing. The end target of their agenda is simple: to try and destabilise an unprecedented level of stability in this country of ours. Why is Malta currently so stable? It is because the Labour government is pro-work and utilises every single opportunity in order to increase the workforce and generate income.
During the previous Nationalist governments, one of the major national projects was the building of the new hospital, Mater Dei. This took more than 15 years to build and the final bill was way over budget as it cost more than Lm300 million out of taxpayers’ pockets, only to find that it wasn’t built to cater for a growing population. It was thanks to a Labour government which extended it within a timeframe and a budget, that the main hospital on the island can now sufficiently cater for the population it serves.
Another major issue was that with the construction of Mater Dei Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital was abandoned. The Labour government has introduced the concept of public-private partnerships within the healthcare sector. Through the partnership with Steward Healthcare, St Luke’s Hospital is currently experiencing a major renovation without costing the taxpayers an arm and a leg, while at the same time ensuring that we have another state-of-the-art medical facility at our disposal.
In doing so, Malta is capitalising on its reputation as a centre for medical tourism. Our island has historically been referred to as ‘the nurse of the Mediterranean’. Combined with excellent medical and surgical expertise, together with a climate that makes Malta an ideal place for rehabilitation, one needs state-of-the-art centres for this reputation to be capitalised upon.
With the introduction of medical marijuana, government is once again ensuring equality
Malta’s sister island has not been forgotten. Gozo General Hospital has experienced a huge leap forward over the past years since these partnerships, initially with Vitals Global Healthcare, and subsequently with Steward Healthcare, have taken over its management.
With the introduction of medical marijuana, the government is once again ensuring equality. It is fulfilling the patients’ rights to use marijuana for medical purposes in a controlled manner. Marijuana consists of multiple cannabinoids, some of which are harmful. The two main cannabinoids that, according to multiple studies, show promise in the medical field are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), both of which have been found to decrease pain and inflammation, among other benefits. There is growing evidence that CBD can positively impact the quality of life of patients suffering from a variety of neurological conditions, cancer, HIV and chronic pain.
What right does anyone have to stop patients, who are still living with conditions that are still uncontrolled despite full conventional treatment, from seeking the possibility of using these products as another way of alleviating their symptoms and improve their quality of life should they so desire? Use of medical marijuana is already legal in other European countries, and the government aims to be at the forefront in ensuring citizens’ rights to all possible available treatment options.
The Maltese government has gone a step further by legalising the manufacturing of medical marijuana for local use as well as for export. In a Europe where legalisation of medical marijuana is being discussed by many governments where it is not already legal, this is a way of attempting to secure this pharmaceutical niche in our country so as to maximise the economic boost this is likely to generate.
This is in keeping with this Labour government’s commitment to maximise the country’s income and creation of jobs. While providing a sustainable healthcare programme that offers free and world-class service to all Maltese citizens.
Stephen Spiteri, Opposition spokesman for health
Our healthcare system has always aimed at providing the best services for the patient. Maltese citizens are entitled to free healthcare and, in case of chronic illnesses, even free medication. All this comes at a cost; in fact our health care budget sums up to around €2 million daily. From days when a patient had to be referred abroad for an MRI scan and when cardiac surgery was a dream in our operating theatres to today’s reality where MRIs are performed daily.
However, this overview cannot overshadow doubts the Maltese voiced about healthcare projects and projections these last five years. Moreover, certain deficiencies in the system must be urgently addressed and priorities sought.
This is certainly not the case when we come to the present situation in the local mental health issue. Vulnerable individuals have been left waiting in aeternum on the dark side for proper management of their condition. If one takes a quick glance at the mental health hospital, one finds that the building itself is a very old one, with restructuring and change not happening for ages.
The privatisation of the three hospitals has raised issues of concern and controversy
We have been told there are “plans” for a new mental hospital; however patients are still waiting for such plans to materialise. The patients deservedly expect that these much-promised plans will help eliminate the stigma that has burdened mental health patients for decades. Recent incidents which surfaced in the media have shed some light on what has been happening and raised concern that a change in mental health hospitalisation needs urgent attention.
Doubts continue to overshadow these “plans” for mental healthcare when it comes to the much-needed community care. Presently, the mental health community care often raises concern about the lack of adequate human resources. Lack of human resources are reported when we come to tackle the outpatient waiting list issue for mental healthcare especially in dealing with adolescent psychiatric cases.
The privatisation of the three hospitals has raised various issues of concern and controversy.
Vitals’ lack of experience, their unstable financial status and missed targets just ended up in a fiasco. What was meant to be a 30-year service resulted in another dubious business transfer to Stewards Healthcare.
Although Stewards Healthcare present themselves as experienced in the medical field we are still waiting for them to perform in the way we were initially promised when this privatisation was signed.
The amendment of the IVF Bill is presently creating a lot of debate and is another issue that sheds a lot of doubt on the government’s plans for healthcare. There is no doubt infertile couples need our full support. Besides the free ART service offered on the national health Bill, one must consider also including the medication needed by these couples.
The proposed Bill is highly controversial, lacks public consultation and vision, as described not only by the Opposition but by a document reflecting the opinion of 100 academics from various faculties of the University of Malta. The President of Malta also pinpointed the need for a longer and mature debate. Former Labour ministers also highlighted the fact that the amendments being proposed to the Embryo Protection Act have turned the same protection Act into one that is not actually protecting the vulnerable embryo.
Parliament also recently approved the medical use of cannabis and a separate bill for the production of cannabis. The Opposition voted in favour of the former but against the latter. Reservations for voting against included the possibility of cultivation and production of marijuana in Malta, not exclusively for medical use.
The Opposition’s priorities include plans in primary healthcare by investing in preventive medicine, addressing outpatient waiting list appointments and planning a future vision for our ageing population.
If you would like to put any questions to the two parties in Parliament send an e-mail marked clearly Question Time to editor@timesofmalta.com.