Moments stay with us. Like the little triumphs of inserting my first venous lines and the bigger conquests of performing an intricately complex procedure unassisted. Truth be told, the bitter moments of failure sit at the forefront - a serious and recalcitrant complication when everything seemed to be going so well, a patient developing widespread cancer despite having successful treatment, an unexpected death that comes like a bolt from the blue.

These moments stay with me because they are constant reminders that patients place their trust in me. Patients and care-providers are no machines. And I find that in disease, we become human even more, not less. At our most vulnerable, we are mostly worried, likely afraid. We look for reassurance, a quick recovery. We long for a cure.

Four years ago I was trusted to represent the Gozitan district. From the word go, I was thrust into a Cabinet position. Despite my many years of medical training, research, practice, teaching and administration, I had experienced nothing that could have prepared me for these moments. I came to consider this new political job as a continuation of my usual line of work. More of the same moments. A different denominator certainly, but with the same practical purpose.

Our robust healthcare is making us live longer. Despite our best efforts to stave off the burden of disease and its impact on disability, longevity ushers in various degrees of dependency. We have recruited every available long-term accommodation in Government-owned and private facilities.

In the community we launched and strengthened educational, screening, psychotherapy, community nursing, anti-abuse and inter-generational initiatives. We transformed St Vincent de Paule into a fully-fledged geriatric hospital with top-end radiology, palliative care, dental care, several multi-disciplinary clinics and complete with a dialysis unit, a gym, animal paddock, a pool and the one-of-a-kind dementia garden. The fresh Intermediate Care concept is up and running, it fends off dependency, and it is going places. 

At the Censu Moran Regional Hub this one facility we are also offering tertiary level clinics, specialist pain procedures, endoscopies and operations. We are in the process of streamlining the delivery of primary care, whilst expanding our national cancer screening services in the breast, colon, prostate and lung fields. We decided to phase out Mount Carmel Hospital as an acute psychiatric facility. The new build at Mater Dei Hospital shall take over this function in the near future. A moment that will end an era of unwelcome stigma, once and for all.

Mater Dei Hospital is now equipped with the unique MR Linac facility for precision radiotherapy treatment, the Early Pregnancy Unit for women suffering miscarriage, the Stroke ward, new ultrasound machines, a new SPECT-CT scanner, two new state of the art PET-CT scanners, the vascular hybrid theatre, expanded and novel world-class endoscopy and robotic surgical services, cutting edge life-saving angiographic procedures in the heart, brain, liver and lungs. We delivered new Medical and Surgical High-Dependency Units. A fully refurbished ART clinic and substantial investments resulted in Malta's enviable pregnancy rates through IVF. We re-invigorated organ donation through the donation after circulatory death (DCD) model. We have a larger NPICU (children's ITU) and two entirely new general wards shall receive patients very soon. Our Emergency Department and ITU shall double in size. In the meantime, through our partnership with private hospitals, more urgent cases are being attended to in timely fashion through the 1400 helpline. 32,000 patients used this service in less than a year.

We reduced waiting times in radiology, cardiology, general surgery, ophthalmology, gynaecology and orthopaedics. Digitalization is on the march. We delivered on our promise to launch the insulin-pump service for type I diabetic youngsters, a veritably life-changing artificial pancreas.

Work has started on the St Luke's campus. The CDAU and CYPS clinics have been relocated to Birkirkara into a welcoming brand-new Child, Adolescent and Youth Services (CAYS) Unit. Relocations for Karin Grech and the administration block will soon be underway. These moves shall allow for the fulfilment of our masterplan for an ambulatory care hospital.

Critical emergencies flying from Gozo now land directly in the forecourt of the Mater Dei emergency, an express service when it matters.  Not content with the setting up of the new CAYS Unit in Victoria, the brand-new MR, CT, US, mammography, bone density and hyperbaric chamber technology and services, Gozo General Hospital opened a new early pregnancy area, a new cardio-respiratory centre, and on the way we have new labs, a new helipad, a larger out-patient department, a larger oncology unit, a new pharmacy with drone connection and two new operating theatres. These shall deliver services on an unprecedented scale, even without the planned new hospital. Plans for this latter enterprise are being evaluated by the same experts abroad.

Few can deny that our health services are living through exciting moments. These are moments that shall render our services future-proof. These moments matter because the Maltese and Gozitans trust us with their lives.