Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the OECD report on aging stated that Malta provides the best health care to its people, while reaffirming that health care will remain free, as the PN had always maintained.

Prime Minister and PN leader Lawrence Gonzi was addressing party faithful in Attard this evening.

He said the best results weren’t just simply the international reports on Malta, such as the OECD report, but a cancer-stricken woman who approached him with tears in her eyes expressing her gratitude for providing free cancer treatment.

On the national screening programmes, Dr Gonzi said that following the breast cancer and colon screening programmes, the next programme in line is the screening of the cervix.

Dr Gonzi highlighted that a number of chronic conditions were added to the government’s list while emphasising that the skin condition, known as eczema, will also join the list, meaning that the list of free medicine entitlement is set to increase.

He added that the fight against diabetes will be a PN government’s focal point, same as the fight against cancer has and will continue to be.

David Grech, a nursing officer at Mater Dei Hospital, said that he has witnessed a quality leap in the health care system under a PN administration.

Mr Grech slammed claims that operating theatres close at 2pm, adding that operations are being performed throughout the whole day.

He emphasised that educating children from a very young age would help save a lot of health costs in the future.

Dr Gonzi said that operations are costly, pointing out that American President Barack Obama has and still is struggling to introduce free health care in the US while in Malta free health care is provided for all. He added that the new Oncology wing within Mater Dei will host much more beds than Boffa Hospital.

Concluding, Dr Gonzi said that the Pharmacy of Your Choice brought along with it a quality leap and will continue to do so thanks to an extension of an agreement between government and pharmacists.

This, he said, helped address the problem of queues outside public health centres and patients can resort to collecting their free medicines from a pharmacy of their choice at their convenience, while warning the electorate once again not to take anything for granted since a Labour government is promising the earth, risking the country's finances.