I am glad that our Parliament is dedicating time to discuss ‘the family’. Over the past few months, in the heat of the divorce debate, much was said about the family.
Many stated that they fully support the family cause and are more than willing to champion for it. Even now, after the referendum result, many across the socio-political spectrum are insisting that family values and related issues must be given importance – politically and socially. I feel however that a full debate on family issues should have taken place in our country before and not after the divorce referendum. Still, what’s done is done and I guess it’s better late than never; and now we must look ahead.
In our country there is unanimous agreement that the family is the essential foundation of our society – the fulcrum. The actual definition of what constitutes a family may change over the years but our obligations towards a healthy family structure within our society remain. We are duty-bound to protect life and provide for good health and quality life from the beginning of life itself at conception (actually even before – when conceiving a child is just a thought) to the last breath – with dignity and respect. Without discrimination, our obligations are towards all the members of each and every family within our society.
Our public health services provide free care at all stages of life. We must always guarantee access to these services in the primary level (at health centres) and in the secondary and tertiary levels (in all our hospitals).
The expecting parents attend regular check-ups including ultra-sound, parentcraft sessions on giving birth and caring for the child, followed by the full obstetric services. These are in turn followed by paediatric care and a wide range of services for all conditions including rehabilitation, mental health, elderly services (geriatrics), care for our patients across all diseases, and palliative care to our cancer (oncology) and other patients.
A healthy society must have good health services. The government must assure the family’s well-being through adequate health services and social support. We must not forget that a healthy society also provides for a healthy economy.
The changes in our family structure have brought with them changes in the fibre of our society. We must be aware of these changes and the different needs they have brought with them. Calibrating health care services to the dynamic needs of a society, in an attempt to effectively and efficiently address the demands of a society, is the biggest challenge of any country. This challenge of course does not escape us. We seek to address this everyday, and the major vehicle to doing so stems from our conscious effort to continue to remain in touch with the needs of our society by remaining close to the individual members of our society. Indeed as Health, the Elderly and Community Care Minister, I constantly emphasise that we as a ministry want to hear you, need to listen to you... we welcome your contribution anytime.
I feel that if we really want to move towards a healthier family within a healthier society we must address the needs of the individual. This is our collective moral obligation as a society and not solely the Government’s. Today I feel that the state’s role is to empower each and every member of our society. We need to cultivate a mentality that all of us have a contribution to make towards a healthy family structure. The government’s free services need to be complemented by each citizen’s full shouldering of responsibility, for caring for our own health, and that of our respective families.
Resources, particularly time is probably one of the acutest of resources available to each of us. Many of us claim that we don’t have enough time – to exercise, to be with our family. We all know that prioritising, making the right choices is the baseline to the appropriate use of our time. The quality time we spend with our family means that we might have to give up on a few things which matter less than our family, or we simply have to reschedule our lives to make room for the ones we really care for – our children and our elderly.
Parliament may (and should) legislate in favour of the family. However, empowerment and legislation must go hand in hand. All members of our society must be aware of their capabilities, their rights and their duties... their responsibilities. After all, one can lead a horse to the water but one cannot make it drink!