Malta is among countries pushing for the impacts of climate change on healthcare systems to be discussed at EU level.

Health Minister Chris Fearne said that Malta was keen for the EU Council to place climate change and “how it is affecting the health of our systems and the delivery of health services” on the agenda of future meetings.

Fearne was speaking from the Canary Islands, where health ministers from EU member states met for an informal meeting.

He noted that the meeting came at a timely moment, given the impacts that a prolonged heatwave has had on several European countries.

The health council meeting in Las Palmas focused primarily on work to ensure access to medicines across the EU, and the potential use of technology and digital tools to ensure medicinal access.

One potential method of expanding pharmaceutical access are electronic information leaflets – essentially the use of a datamatrix code that when scanned using a mobile phone directs users to an information leaflet in their own language.

Datamatrix codes are similar to QR Codes but feature more robust anti-counterfeit measures.

Earlier on Saturday, the Medical Association of Malta said it was disappointed that a meeting between the government and social partners held on Friday had not delved into the need to invest more heavily in Malta’s health infrastructure.