For many decades we have been experiencing an unprecedented change in the fabric of society. As life expectancy has increased and the birth rate has remained low, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over has risen dramatically. For many years our ageing society has been too often - but wrongly - seen solely in terms of increasing dependency. But the reality is that, as older people become an ever more significant part of the population, society has become inversely dependent on the contribution they can and do still make.

My government does not claim to have all the answers to deal with this change, but we are fully committed to ensuring that older people enjoy the place and space they deserve within society. This goes far beyond the customary care for the elderly. The name of the Secretariat for which I am responsible - Active Ageing - spells out my mission on behalf of the Labour government. 

The long list of ongoing projects around Malta and Gozo managed and executed by my Secretariat speaks for itself. I must admit that I feel hurt each time we have to use the term 'institutionalised' when referring to older people in public or private homes. In line with our mission for active ageing, I would choose to describe all our work as providing the deserved space to those who certainly merit further care but contemporaneously are given every opportunity to continue contributing to society's well being, including their own.

Gozo and Buġibba

It is my remit to reach a variety of agreements with the private sector to secure our mission for this fast-growing sector of our population and I leave no stone unturned in the full execution of my duties. One such step forward was the opening last week of a night shelter for 12 people at Dar Padova in Għajnsielem. This new service is being provided through an agreement between the government and the Church following an invitation that was issued by my Parliamentary Secretariat for collaboration between the two entities.

Parallel with other projects, work to adapt this venue to cater for the elderly had been on our priority list for the last few months and it was most satisfying to welcome our first clients last Monday to a place that now provides all the facilities of a library, a kitchen and a welcoming living area with a spacious internal courtyard and a garden. Our final aim is to provide a warm home ambience to our residents who, for various reasons, cannot stay in their own homes. The success of this night shelter will encourage us to venture further with more projects of the same kind - or even better.

We have this week also reaped the fruits of long months of planning with the private sector. Casa San Paolo was inaugurated in Bugibba by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and prior to the official opening we had already concluded a ppp agreement to increase our residential services. Thanks to the untiring work of my team we have now reduced the waiting list for people to be admitted to such homes by a remarkable four per cent. The list of those waiting to be assessed has also fallen from 70 to 41 per cent but resting on our laurels is not in my dictionary.

Planning with set deadlines

Some people may have the impression that I and my staff simply enjoy our comfort zone when we just sit behind our desks or engage in lengthy planning meetings with our advisers. They would be wrong. My call of duty goes well beyond the planning phase with all my hard-working officials. It is indeed most rewarding that, in my daily routine, I visit work-in-progress scattered all over both islands.

While checking that everything is done as planned and agreed, when it comes to refurbishment or the upgrading of services, I discuss matters with everyone concerned, including the residents themselves, so that in everything we do we meet expectations. My foremost focus is to make everyone understand that we are not simply being kind by granting a service, but are primarily providing what our elder citizens deserve. Nothing short of that will fulfil my remit as Parliamentary Secretary for Active Ageing!

As a matter of fact, we are going full speed ahead with numerous refurbishing and upgrading projects in many of the state-run homes for the elderly and day centres. Extensive plumbing, plastering, air-conditioning and energy-saving work is currently being carried out at our homes in Floriana, Imtarfa and Mosta, where a new state-of-the-art hairdressing salon has just been opened. We are also extending the Imtarfa home to accommodate an additional 25 beds for people with dementia.

New dental clinic

Other works will shortly start at Sala San Ġużepp 2 at the St Vincent de Paule Residence, now that we have fully refurbished Sala San Ġużepp 3 and 8. Similar upgrading and refurbishing work is also underway at Swali San Franġisk 3 and 4.

Our focus at SVPR is even more challenging with the opening of a new dental clinic that has eight fully-equipped dental stations specifically accessible for elderly patients, even those with mobility restrictions. All dental services will be provided and are all focused within the context of geriatric dentistry. 

Regrettably recent data indicated that older people in state residences have poor oral health. Active ageing can only be achieved through a good quality of life accompanied by good oral health and it was logical that the Faculty of Dental Surgery sought to establish a dental teaching unit within St Vincent De Paul, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Secretariat for Rights of Persons with Disability and Active Ageing. It should be noted that this project was financed conjointly by the University of Malta and the Ministry and was completed on time and within budget.

Indeed this has been a very long and busy week aimed at bettering the lives of the elderly. We have actually been reaping the fruits of all the planning, budgeting and executing of so many projects with deadlines and estimates that we have set from the start, which applies to other projects we have in hand and more that are being planned. After all, my role as Parliamentary Secretary for Active Ageing requires that the work we have achieved is monitored to ensure its continued success. For all the other projects, my motto is always "work-in-progress".