The Malta College of Family Doctors has welcomed the Malta Labour Party’s proposal that every doctor should, with the patient’s consent, have access to notes made by other doctors on that particular patient.

The MLP quoted Dr Pierre Mallia as saying this during a meeting held yesterday to discuss the MLP’s health plan.

In its plan, the MLP said that patients often visit public health centres and are seen afterwards by their family doctor. However, they are not always capable of passing on medical information to their new consultant. The MLP is proposing that, with the patient’s consent, private doctors would be able to access information on the said patient to ensure continuity of treatment.

Dr Mallia was reported as having said that public health centres needed to be improved and that the college was working hard to promote good quality medical services.

Labour leader Alfred Sant said the MLP gave utmost importance to family doctors’ work, and urged greater cooperation between state medical help and family doctors in order to improve the services offered.