Structured post-graduate training has become an urgent issue which needs to be tackled, Health Minister Louis Deguara said yesterday.

What had happened, he said, was that EU accession had provided opportunities for doctors who wished to go abroad for specialist training, and doctors were now leaving earlier in their careers, “practically upon graduating”.

Dr Deguara was making a concluding address at the seminar on “ESF 8 – Retention of specialists through the development of specialist training in Malta”.

He said the opening of Mater Dei hospital, with its state-of-the-art facilities, would provide an impetus to launch the implementation of structured specialist training.

“Our vision,” he said, “is to create in Mater Dei a centre of excellence for specialist training of doctors not only for Malta but for the Mediterranean.”

He pointed out he did not wish to give the impression that they had to build from scratch. They had had a significant amount of teaching and training in the past.

“What we need to do now,” he said, “is to create the necessary structures and systems to ensure accountability, transparency, a clear pathway for training and dedicated time for training.”