The government has established a multi-sectoral task force that will be discussing and drafting an action plan to strengthen the country’s community services, serving as a basis for further discussion at a public consultation conference in November.

Health, the Elderly and Community Care Minister Louis Deguara, together with the Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly and Community Care, Helen D’Amato, yesterday held a joint press conference at the Qormi health centre to provide details of the government’s vision to strengthen community services.

Dr Deguara explained that despite the extensive community service network that already existed, the government wanted to strengthen it in order to fulfil its vision for the country to become a centre of excellence in a number of sectors, including health care, by 2015.

“Now that Mater Dei Hospital is about to start receiving its first patients, the government now wants to consolidate community services, making them services of high quality, which citizens truly deserve and which will meet the needs of society now and in the future,” he said, adding that it was not enough to provide high quality secondary care services to have a centre of excellence.

He said community care forms a vital part of the whole health care system, since what happens to each individual case is normally determined at the community level and cases need to be followed up in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Referring to the recent Euro Health Consumer Index (ECHI), which placed the Maltese healthcare service in the 20th place among 29 countries, Dr Deguara said it was important to note that the report, which was compiled by the independent agency Health Consumer Powerhouse, was based on a number of criteria that put small countries like Malta at a disadvantage.

Arne Björnberg, research director for the EHCI, said: “Experience shows that small healthcare systems have the capacity to quickly, change course and improve”.

The community care task force is made up of government representatives, NGOs, as well as church institutions. The government’s aim is to bring the community itself to live a healthy life – bringing people to work together and carry out more voluntary work.

The ministry’s permanent secretary, Frank Mifsud, said the task force was intended to bring all stakeholders together; he said government representatives who had already given their contribution to the task force, had expressed the need to create a strong network between hospitals and community services.

Ms D’Amato spoke about the extensive network of already existing services and the need to ensure that the system was accessible, adequate and sustainable.

As for the elderly, Ms D’Amato said it was important to strengthen and improve facilities and services that would allow elderly people to live in the community as long as possible.

The public consultation conference on the subject will be held on 22 November at the Westin Dragonara Resort. All those wishing to attend and present suggestions may do so by sending an email to

consultationcommunitcare

@gov.mt. The task force is expected to draft its action plan by January.