Speaking at a press conference held in front of the Floriana health centre, Labour acting leader Charles Mangion yesterday claimed that the government has neglected the primary health service.

It was a PN administration which first reduced the number of the services provided by health centres and later closed many of them for long periods of time, Dr Mangion claimed. A recent case in point regards the health centres of Gzira and Floriana which from open 24x7, are now closing up at 5pm.

In 2000, announcing the first cuts, health minister Louis Deguara had said this was only temporary. He promised the same thing some months later. From 1999 to 2006 the funds voted for health centres have crept down from Lm150,000 to Lm25,000 and they now amount to Lm16,000.

All this, Dr Mangion added, is piling up more pressure on the doctors, nurses and employees of the Emergency Department at Mater Dei.