Government cannot keep leaving doctors to bear the burden of its mistakes

The Partit Nazzjonalista calls for serious investment to protect our doctors’ health and our own

“Leaving is often the only way to avoid serious mental health consequences, including suicide.”

When doctors in our country feel so alone that, after years of study and sacrifice, leaving their jobs is the only way to avoid serious harm, we should be deeply concerned.

Over the past 13 years, the Partit Nazzjonalista has fought from the Opposition benches to safeguard the health of the Maltese people where the Government has failed to do so.

What is reported in today’s Times of Malta article is the result of a Government that has continued to bury its head in the sand over the growing daily pressures caused by population growth. Despite increasing the population by tens of thousands in recent years, the Government of Robert Abela has failed to strengthen services and provide the resources they need. Healthcare workers have been left to maintain the same standard of service they provided before the population explosion.

For years, the Partit Nazzjonalista has highlighted the burnout experienced by a number of healthcare workers and insisted that unless we look after our workforce and invest more in our doctors, the consequences for healthcare will only worsen.

No one should be expected to work for 32 hours straight. This is not only cruel: such long working hours pose a very serious risk to a person’s physical and mental health, as well as a major risk when a doctor has to drive home after a day and a half of uninterrupted work.

The fine words spoken before the election must now translate into measures that improve people’s lives.

Labour promised workplaces offering “physical safety” and “psychological support”, with measures to prevent stress. It also promised measures to address psychosocial risks in the workplace and early intervention.

What the organisation Mental Health of Medics is saying shows the opposite.

In its electoral manifesto, Labour promised to improve people’s well-being and quality of life. Yet there is a gulf between its words and its actions.

The Partit Nazzjonalista calls on the Government to take doctors’ concerns seriously and start investing as needed to protect our professionals and the health services on which the people of Malta and Gozo depend.

The Government cannot keep leaving our doctors to bear the burden of its mistakes.

Stephen Spiteri
Shadow Minister for Health

Eve Borg Bonello
Shadow Minister for Youth, Wellbeing and the Implementation of the Electoral Programme

Ian Vassallo Hagi
Spokesperson for Quality of Life

28.09.2026