The health authorities have temporarily suspended the “see and treat” policy pending further discussions on its implementation, the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) said in a statement yesterday.

The association referred to reports in sections of the media regarding this policy, which was supposed to be introduced at the Emergency and Casualty Department at St Luke’s Hospital.

MAM said they wanted to clarify their position, saying that the complement of doctors working in the department was barely sufficient to deal with genuine emergencies and minor cases.

The association added that people admitted to the department for minor casualties should not be referred to the emergency department in the first place and it did not make sense to under-serve genuine emergencies by first treating other cases that might not be too urgent.

While it said that it sympathised with health professionals who may have to face verbal and occasionally physical abuse from patients objecting to very long waiting times, MAM said they wanted to make it clear that any change in doctors’ working conditions must be discussed directly with them.

The association said the new “see and treat” policy has been temporarily suspended and it would be holding discussions with the authorities to attempt to seek alternative solutions to the problems affecting the Emergency and Casualty Department.