It is getting difficult sometimes keeping up with the many reports, surveys and statistics that are issued about the state of the economy, credit rating, and so many other aspects of life in the country. In the case of surveys, it is also difficult to draw overall conclusions as different measuring standards are often used in the ranking of countries or services.

In the latest health survey by a Swedish policy think tank Health Consumer Powerhouse, for example, Malta drops four places, ranking 27 out of 35 countries. Yet three months earlier, in November last year, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, classified Malta among the world’s top 10, which is quite a high ranking. A World Health Organisation had classified Malta in fifth place.  In fact, Malta receives good scores in practically all reports and surveys about the country’s health services.

Most Maltese are generally satisfied with the service given in State hospitals. What most complain about is the generally long waiting time at the emergency department, overcrowding, particularly in times of a high incidence of influenza, and the occasional unavailability of medicine.

According to the latest Swedish survey, the fall in Malta’s ranking followed a marginal decline in points allocated to it, from 642 to 631, compared to a maximum 1,000. The survey cites decent accessibility of the service but less strong treatment results. This seems to be a bit worrying and would need clarification from the local Health Ministry. In fact it is somewhat surprising that it has not reacted to it.

Also needing clarification perhaps is their conclusion that there seemed to be gaps in the public subsidy system of healthcare, particularly in drug subsidies. Yet, it claims, many Maltese do not bother about receiving a subsidy. It adds that the result is that Malta has little data on drug use.

But what really stands out in this survey is an indicator that gives Malta what it calls a Purple score, that is, no points at all, for not giving women abortion rights. The Purple score, it says, was introduced for “particularly abominable” results, and that it has been exclusively applied to countries that have not given women rights to abortion. It pontificates that the scoring of this indicator was somewhat complex and that the scores were fundamentally based on the principle that free, legally defined abortion, should be available to women in any country.

The debate in Malta over whether or not to introduce the right to abortion appears to be picking up again. The fact that so many countries have given women this right does not mean that Malta has to follow suit blindly. In this respect, therefore, the Swedish survey is not much of good use to the country.

Besides making certain that the services and care provided in State hospitals and clinics are up to standard, the government would also need to ensure the continued sustainability of the health sector, a point that is regularly raised in reports about the sector. 

It is most unfortunate that so much energy has been spent, and millions of euros lost, in passing over the running of three hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare, which has now passed the concession to an American company. The government could have rectified its mistake and taken them back.  

This is a Times of Malta print editorial