A prospective PN government would ensure treatment for any form of cancer is covered by the state, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said on Monday.  

Speaking during a political activity in Mqabba, the leader of the Nationalist Party said the time had come to stop telling some cancer patients that they would have to pay for their own medical treatment or else depend on charity. 

Some cancer patients are forced to resort to charities to secure life-saving treatment because the state does not provide certain drugs on its formulary list.

The president’s charity, known as the Malta Community Chest Fund, finances many requests for treatment.  

Cancer treatment financed by the MCCF can cost more than €120,000 per patient every year, with the charity financing on average of €1million in treatment every month last year.

Speaking to party supporters on Monday, Grech said he would no longer tolerate a state that differentiated between patients diagnosed with different forms of cancer.

“To me, whatever form of cancer you have, you have a value as a person, and we should take care of you and pay for whatever cancer treatment you need,” he said.    

The MCCF, Grech said, does priceless work in helping thousands of people in need as they go through their darkest hours. 

“But, if there is something that hurts me is the idea of telling someone fighting cancer to request charity or dig into their own pockets,” he said.  

IVF treatment overhaul  

Fielding questions from those present for the debate about the health sector, the Opposition leader heard from Janice Grech, who has been unsuccessfully attempting to conceive a child through In vitro fertilisation (IVF). 

She described the traumatic experience of repeatedly and unsuccessfully undergoing IVF treatment overseas. 

Grech said a PN government would overhaul the IVF treatment system, and ensure there was a specialist on the island at all times.  

“There are lives at stake here. If we have money to waste on this government’s excesses then we have money to invest in families,” he said.  

The party faithful also heard from Ray Busuttil, Malta’s former superintendent for public health, who called for a holistic public healthcare plan.

He also warned that some plans, such as the country’s obesity strategy, had come to an end last year, but no public announcements about them had been made yet.

Turning to mental health care, Grech reiterated his pledge to close Mount Carmel and develop a new mental healthcare facility free of the stigma associated with the current former asylum.  

Asked about the controversial privatisation of three state hospitals, Grech thanked his predecessor Adrian Delia who has been leading a court battle to have the government rescind the contracts. 

He said he supports Delia, because if he wins, then the whole country would win. 

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