Opposition MPs have said that a request to set an urgent parliamentary health committee meeting has been rejected by the government. 

The PN requested a meeting two days ago to discuss the issue of several medications currently being out of stock. 

Last year, PN MPs Claudette Buttigieg, Ian Vassallo and Stephen Spiteri said that a list of various pharmaceuticals, raging from insulin used by diabetics to eye pressure medicine, have been out of stock for some time and accused the government of trying to conceal this by failing to publish its out-of-stock medication list, which has not been updated since November 7. 

The same three MPs said in a statement on Tuesday that the list of out of stock medicine has continued to increase, with patients ending up without treatment and families struggling to pay for the medicines that they need. 

Amid an antibiotic shortage being experienced across Europe, medicinal distributors who spoke to Times of Malta last year said that shortages are now impacting almost all classes of pharmaceuticals. 

The shortages have largely been attributed to unofficial bans on exports from countries like India and China, where sourcing pharmaceuticals from these countries has become near impossible. 

The government has said that the situation is under control and that the medications the PN are claiming are out of stock are in fact available at the central procurement and supplies unit and that the party was creating “unnecessary alarm”.