Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today admitted that the government is still “learning the ropes” when it comes to tackling the  leviathan that is the health sector. 

He said that a review of Mater Dei and the surrounding "eco-system" is underway.

Dr Muscat said that the sector is full of “semi-autonomous Republics that don’t communicate.” He reiterated his commitment to maintain “free healthcare and medicines for all,” whilst embarking on the necessary reforms in the sector.

Speaking during a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, Dr Muscat expressed his angst at the fact that the “just in time system” seems to work for the private sector, but not for the health sector when it comes to maintaining sufficient medicine stocks.

The prime minister heaped praise on the “dedicated people” in the health sector, but expressed his frustration that their dedication is not reaping results. He put this down to there being something “endemically wrong in the system.”