The House of Representatives yesterday evening approved the Health, the Elderly and Community Care Ministry budget estimates in a session highly dominated by the migration to Mater Dei Hospital and the controversy surrounding the proposed postponement of the session, after Health Minister Louis Deguara sustained burn injuries to his face.

MLP health spokesman Michael Farrugia opened the session by giving his version of events and blamed the government for not postponing it to Monday.

PN whip Mario Galea said that the session could not be postponed to Monday and the MLP’s suggestion was only put forward by the opposition after the story was featured in the press.

For his part, the minister thanked all those who showed their solidarity and apologised for appearing in parliament with a four-day beard.

MLP elderly spokesman Silvio Parnis endorsed the government’s initiative regarding pensions and pledged that the MLP will seek to provide medicine that is not currently available and decrease the government homes for the elderly’s fees from 80 per cent of the residents’ pensions to 65 per cent.

Labour MP Adrian Vassallo quoted international organisations that said Malta provided the 5th best health service in the world at the start of the current legislation. Now, he said, Malta is ranked 20th among European countries.

Dr Vassallo asked whether the Pharmacy of Your Choice programme will cater for people who are immediately in need of medicine.

He criticised the new agreement between the government and doctors, saying that the country will start exporting specialists rather than doctors. He added that the specialists and doctors who wish to further their studies will benefit from this agreement while other doctors will not benefit at all.

Labour Health Spokesman Michael Farrugia said the primary care sector should be better targeted as a number of health centres had to close during certain hours until there were more doctors to man them. However, he said, these keep diminishing and the government might need to close down more centres.

In the coming months, he said, a Labour government will cooperate with both private practitioners and doctors in the public service in order to refer to hospital only those cases that need specialised care. This will also be checked through a medical audit.

Speaking about the breast screening exercise, Dr Farrugia said consultation started when he was minister. Three years down the line, he said, the government said that it will not save lives, while the MLP insisted that it is worthwhile even if a single life is saved. He said that Minister Deguara is defending PM Lawrence Gonzi on the implementation of a national breast screening exercise which is not possible to start implementing this year.

Dr Farrugia said that both GPs and pharmacists are not fully aware of what the Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme entail. He pointed out that the scheme has been 20 years in the making.

The MLP spokesman pointed out discrepancies between average Maltese revenue and medicine prices and enquired on how this is taking place. Other countries, he said, have a way of tackling this problem.

Dr Farrugia referred to an MLP proposal that a regulator should monitor medicine prices and present a report to parliament on tackling these problems. He proposed an overhaul of the medicine registration system in keeping with EU regulations.

He reviewed the postponement of dates for Mater Dei Hospital to accept first patients and described the hospital as a monument to PN for sleaze during its building.

Dr Farrugia said government never managed to tackle the waiting-list problem, which trebled since 1998. He stated that a five-year waiting list can seriously undermine life expectancy and the quality of life. The MLP spokesman said there are no budget estimates aiming at reducing waiting lists.

The Opposition MP criticised the lack of beds per consultant, and the lack of nurses and anaesthetists to man more operating theatres at Mater Dei. He insisted that recruitment should have started much earlier rather than on the threshold of the hospital’s opening. This shows a blatant lack of foresight in planning as the government preferred to concentrate on building the hospital rather than manning it. He also called for a different management style at hospitals in order to avoid repeating the problems that mar St Luke’s Hospital.

Dr Farrugia condemned the recent damage at Mater Dei after the government increased VAT solely to finance its construction.

He called for further campaigns regarding smoking, alcohol and obesity.

Nationalist MP Mario Galea thanked the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses for the agreement reached with the government on attracting more nurses, as well as increasing their premium. He said that nurses will benefit from substantial pay rises, including schemes to lure back nurses who had left the public service and favourable schemes for retaining nurses who reached the pensionable age.

He added that the award of a warrant to nurses was a commitment taken by the government to endorse nurses as professionals.

Nationalist MP Joe Cassar complained about the lack of attention given to mental health, especially by the MLP proposals

He said that management of the mental health sector is very clear, yet there were employees who did not want to acknowledge it.

Dr Cassar said that the community service teams managed to keep treat more people at community level. He also gave a review of work done at Mount Carmel Hospital.

Parliamentary Secretary Helen D’Amato said the government took heed of what elderly people wanted to be included in the 2008 budget. These included the full Lm1.50 COLA, as well as the reduction on stamp duty on causa mortis and the possibility for senior citizens who work beyond retirement age to retain their pensions, and initiatives in favour of service pension beneficiaries.

Ms D’Amato said that most of the elderly were benefiting from all services delivered at government institiutions at a much lower cost than those residing in private or church ones. She said that the allowance given to the latter will further help them, as they pay far higher fees than those in government homes.

The Mellieha residence, she said, will start operating next year and the prospective residents will pay the same fee as in other homes.

The parliamentary secretary reviewed measures taken at Saint Vincent de Paule Residence (SVPR), such as new input in its management, especially in its catering department as well as an activity centre at SVPR to fight dementia. This, she said, was beneficial both to the elderly as well as their families.

She announced that shortly a tender for childcare centre facilities will be published and that all wards will be fully air-conditioned.

Minister Deguara thanked all those who attended the three-day activities at Mater Dei Hospital, and Opposition Leader Alfred Sant for praising the state of the art finishing at the hospital. He criticised the opposition for disagreeing on whether the hospital is a white elephant or not.

He said that Mater Dei will start functioning this year and could not understand how the MLP wants to open all departments at once, while stating that there is not enough man-power.

Although Mater Dei was not the solution to all problems, he said, it was an important tool in tackling them. This includes waiting lists, he said, which is a problem that afflicts all of Europe, especially regarding orthopaedics and ophtalmics.

Dr Deguara downplayed the opposition’s criticism regarding its choice to buy analogue breast screening machines, rather than digital ones. He said that they were cheaper and gave out the same results. He said that a breast screening exercise was not a mirage.

The minister said the favourable response to the Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme was so overwhelming that its registration dead line had to be extended

He criticised the opposition for wanting to retain Sir Paul Boffa Hospital. He said the site does not allow for expansion, thus an up-to-date oncology treatment will only be possible if the department is transferred to Zammit Clapp Hospital. He also announced a new department of radiography at Zammit Clapp

Dr Deguara highlighted all agreements reached with all medical staff in order to upgrade their working conditions. He said the medical brain-drain problem, especially that concerning consultants, was going to be tackled through the agreement reached with the Medical Association of Malta.

Besides pay rise, he said, Maltese doctors will benefit from an improved working environment at Mater Dei as well as flexible working hours. The minister said that career progression is not out of reach, as post-graduate specialisation will be available locally.

The combination of a new hospital and better working conditions for medical workers will result in a better health service.

The budget estimates passed with 31 votes in favour and 25 against it.