The government has called a parliamentary health committee meeting over the issue of out-of-stock medicine on the insistence of the PN, the Opposition is claiming.

The PN has requested an urgent meeting to limit the impact on people affected by the shortage. 

However, the issue was not a priority for the government, and the meeting will only be held on January 16, the party added in a statement. 

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. 

In a subsequent Times of Malta interview, the head of the Central Procurement and Supplies Unit explained that the global medicine shortage is estimated to last another six months in Malta. Despite this, there is “no cause for alarm”.

Shortages have been blamed on global supply chain problems, with a lack of available Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) from China and India seen as a key issue.

On Thursday, Health Minister Chris Fearne said the shortage was mainly impacting the private sector.