The PN on Friday slammed the delayed reopening of the Rabat health centre, which it said had closed for renovation without warning.
Residents, meanwhile, had to seek medical care at the Mosta and Birkirkara centres instead, and it looked like the Rabat centre would not reopen before mid-next year, party spokespeople told a press conference.
"Primary healthcare is not a priority for the Labour government. What is happening with the Rabat health centre is further evidence of the Labour government’s incompetence in the field of healthcare and primary care," they said.
Shadow minister for primary healthcare Ian Vassallo, shadow minister for health Adrian Delia and shadow minister for active ageing Paula Mifsud Bonnici said the Rabat health centre was closed for renovation work "without prior notice and in haste".
"We have now learned that instead of reopening at the end of this year, as promised by Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela, it will reopen in mid-2025. This is because, according to Minister Abela himself, further work on the ventilation system still needs to be done.
"If it was not for the PN, which raised this issue and appealed for transportation to be provided to other health centres for these patients, even this would not have happened," Vassallo said.
Patients now have to seek care in other localities such as Birkirkara and Mosta, where, among others, blood and vaccination services were being provided in a room lacking basic sanitary facilities, he claimed.
Delia added that meanwhile, the Northern Hub project had been sidelined, with Minister Abela advising patients to seek services in Gozo instead. Additionally, the Southern Hub remained closed despite a grand inauguration shortly before the last European elections, as it is entangled in a legal dispute, he said.
"This Paola hub was supposed to open in 2022 and was funded by €50 million from the European Union, which is now at risk of being lost."
Mifsud Bonnici said a new PN government would ensure a healthcare system that promoted health, disease prevention, appropriate and timely treatment, as well as excellent rehabilitation to ensure that the elderly enjoyed a good quality of life.
"Unfortunately, it seems that this Government has different priorities, preferring to enter into agreements with companies inexperienced in healthcare, with millions of euros of taxpayers’ money wasted, and the government partnering with those who defrauded our country and the healthcare sector through corrupt deals, where the patient always ends up being the victim," she said.