Medicine graduates yearn to specialise in family medicine and 40 young doctors this year applied to enrol in the three-year professional training course.

The programme can only take up to 12 graduates and only after they complete their seven-year course and obtain a warrant.

Malta is the first European country outside the UK to reach the rigorous standards set by the distinguished Royal College of Family Doctors. The college endorsement is viewed as highly prestigious and the programme, created in tandem with the Malta College of Family Doctors, is only offered in 10 other countries.

“The Royal College is one of the oldest medical institutions in the world and, therefore, it is of great benefit to have its experience available to local doctors,” Health Minister Joe Cassar said. The main beneficiary of this agreement is the public. “This will give the Maltese peace of mind because having a supervising body will improve the standards and quality of family medicine,” he added.

With medical science advancing minute by minute it is important for family doctors to take on a wider role, said Adrian Freeman, the Royal College’s international development adviser.

“The population is ageing and family doctors are having to handle complex diseases while at the same time keeping their patients in the community and not hospitalising them,” Prof. Freeman has said.

This allows health systems to develop in the most effective way and permits hospitals to focus on other issues. The popularity of the course reverses a trend. Up to 10 years ago, according to Jurgen Abela, president of the Malta College of Family Doctors, family medicine was not at all popular.

The training programme includes skills in management, communication and a work-based assessment portfolio.