MAINSAIL_issue 10

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Continued from page 7
activities. The My Health system which stores
patient records electronically allows a family
doctor access to more than 60,000 patients.
MBR: Prevention rather than cure – which
innovations and projects can have an
impact on the future of public health?
CF: The Health Ministry, through the
Superintendency of Public Health’s Social
Determinants Unit, has secured social
funding to establish a national platform to
address social determinants of health. This
survey covers various topics such as quality
of life, tobacco, alcohol consumption, body
mass, illness, disability and the use of health
services and medicines. The data will enable
identification of health inequalities in Malta,
which in turn leads to overarching and crosscutting
policies. In other words, policy can be
shaped to increase prevention and awareness,
look out for a healthier community and rooted
in the cardinal principle of equity address
different needs of each strata of society.
Malta has recently registered the best Breast
Cancer patient survival rates due to top notch
quality treatment and care given to patients.
Hence, we are extending the breast screening
service to women aged between 50-69 to
once, every two instead of three years. Up
till now around 80,000 mammograms were
performed since the service was introduced
in 2009.
MBR: What remains to be done to improve
the state of health of the Maltese?
CF: Our vision is to actively promote a society
that fosters an environment conducive to
health and well-being. To attain these goals
the government will continue to build on the
current principles laid out in the National
Health Strategy for Malta 2014-2020 - to
8 } Issue 10
give every individual the opportunity to
lead a healthy and active life and to benefit
from equitable access to sustainable quality
healthcare services.
In the coming decades, the Maltese health
system will have to face a number of
significant challenges, including the increase
in population size as well as chronic conditions
such as obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart
diseases. More mental health problems will
certainly add further pressure on the system.
In order to address these challenges sustainably,
the health system needs to find effective solutions
with greater emphasis on prevention, increased
efficiency and improved use of resources.
MBR: At this key moment for the Ministry’s
agenda on the European stage, what is
your final message that you would like
to share with our local and international
readers?
CF: The Health Ministry believes in the
quality of its main resource, that is our
dedicated health staff. We aim to empower
them more, providing more access to training
and ground-breaking medical research
as well as access to the latest technology
and equipment. We shall strive to further
develop primary health care and the role
of specialized centres to put Malta on the
regional health map. MS