The opposition is persisting in twisting facts and trying to hide the truth from the general public. The truth of it all is that the government is working at breakneck speed in the healthcare sector for the benefit of the people of Malta and Gozo, a Department of Information statement yesterday said.

This government, said the DOI, believed that each and every Maltese citizen deserved the best in everything including healthcare. As a result, the government invested close to half a billion liri in healthcare. The DOI said that during his tenure, Alfred Sant had allocated a paltry Lm60 million per year towards healthcare.

The DOI said that the World Health Organisation had recently stated that Maltese and Gozitan citizens have one of the best healthcare systems in the world.

The DOI said that the general public now has the facility to receive treatment in the state-of-the-art Mater Dei hospital. The department went on to say that this was the biggest-ever Maltese government investment in healthcare. The DOI said that up to a few months ago, Dr Sant was describing the hospital as being an “extravagance”, but has since changed his mind and said it is in fact a “state-of-the-art” hospital.

The DOI also said that this year, the government was investing about Lm24 million in medicines to be distributed free of charge to the general public. In addition, a facility five times the size of Zammit Clapp Hospital is in the offing while the current facility is to be turned into an oncology (cancer treatment) facility. Moreover, the Pharmacy of your Choice scheme is set to come in whereby patients can pick up their medicine from, as the name suggests, a pharmacy of their choice.

The department said that it was this government that had, year after year, invested millions of liri in healthcare on a yearly basis. The DOI also said that it was this government which strengthened the country’s finances which had led to economic growth.