Kirkop health centre to receive first patients by next summer – Fearne

Works on the new Kirkop health centre started yesterday, and it will be receiving its first patients next summer, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne said on Indepth.

Interviewed by The Malta Independent news editor Rachel Attard, Fearne said the government will not stop investing in other centres once the Kirkop polyclinic and the Paola regional hub are finished. Refurbishment works are taking place at various clinics, including that in Gżira.

During the programme, Fearne also speaks about the country’s economic performance. He said that “this budget was not an accounting exercise, but a budget that plans out this legislature.”

He said the budget takes stock of what happened in previous years, while laying out the foundations for the future.

The deputy PM said that although we should recognise that previous governments had a good vision for the economy, Joseph Muscat’s government in the last legislature spent four years solving a number of problems, such as a deficit and out of stock medicines.

The positive economic results are also being confirmed by credit rating agencies.

Fearne said that what this government is doing now is distributing the wealth that has been generated.

Asked what the government is doing to attract new sectors, instead of just banking on the existing ones, Fearne said the government has started the ball rolling to attract medical tourism and to make Malta a centre of excellence for Blockchain.

The entire programme will be uploaded tomorrow on www.independent.com.mt