A new community clinic, built inside a controversial Siġġiewi housing block, was inaugurated and named after cardiologist Albert Fenech on Friday. 

Fenech, who was a respected surgeon and former PN MP, died in 2021 at age 70. 

The housing block, which incidentally is named after Labour MP Silvio Parnis, was the subject of controversy earlier this year after it was found that 99 residents had been registered as living there in the run-up to elections, despite the block being uninhabited at the time. 

A magistrate later ordered that the addresses on the ID cards registered on the block be reverted back to where they were previously. 

In a statement, both the Social Accommodation and Health ministries said they were in agreement that the building should be named after Fenech, who was born in Siġġiewi and who for many years "offered the best of service to so many patients". 

The clinic will be offering the services of a family doctor, speech and language pathology for adults and children, podiatry and physiotherapy. 

Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela said that the clinic will be able to meet the needs of some 10,000 people who live in Siġġiewi and in the surrounding areas.

He said that the completion of this project brings the total number of community clinics in Malta up to 30. 

From the start of the year till now, Abela said that some 600,000 people have been seen at Maltese health centres, while community clinics have seen some 70,000 patients. 

"Primary health care is one of the central pillars of healthcare in our country and we are committed to continued strengthening medical care in the heart of our communities so that we can get closer to our patients," Abela said. 

Social Accommodation Minister Roderick Galdes said that the project not only saw the government providing safe and dignified housing to those who need it but continues to implement its "holistic social vision".