Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia this morning launched a public consultation period on the National Health Systems Strategy 2014-2020. Dr Farrugia said that the strategy will address all branches of the health sector in an integrated way and also address the country’s real health needs.

He appealed to the public and all stakeholders to take part in the consultation process. “This process has one aim – to make health patient centric, to offer a patient centric experience. Our health is the biggest investment, it is everything. If health fails all everything else will fail.”

Acting Chief Medical Officer Neville Calleja said that a new global strategy is needed because the health sector has changed considerably since the last one was drafted in 1995. There are a number of other factors that highlight the need for a new NHSS, including an ageing population and the need to manage long-term or chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

A number of strategies dealing with these particular issues have been developed but there needs to be an overall strategy to ensure consistency and a coherent response and action to the challenges that are being encountered in a holistic way. Another reason is the requirement to have a strategy when applying for EU funds.