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NEWS Bulletin 1st Issue 2020
A NEW COMMUNITY CLINIC in
MARSAXLOKK
A new community clinic (Berġa) at Marsaxlokk is
currently being totally restructured and
refurbished. The new clinic will provide various
community services for Marsaxlokk residents and
other localities in the vicinity.
The Health Ministry stated that the community clinic
is being built on land owned by the University of
Malta, which was granted to Primary HealthCare
following the signing of an agreement entered in
March 2020 between the University of Malta and
Primary HealthCare.
Whilst visiting the ongoing works, the Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for Health the Hon. Chris
Fearne expressed satisfaction that an ideal prime site
has been made available, after almost three years of
searching. The Hon. Mr Fearne stated that once this
clinic starts receiving clients, residents will be
benefitting from many more services in an
aesthetically pleasing environment.
The Chief Executive Officer of Primary HealthCare,
Ms. Roseanne Camilleri affirmed the concept that the
aim of Primary HealthCare is to move services
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MEGA-REFURBISHMENT of the
GŻIRA HEALTH CENTRE
Tha Gżira health centre has closed it’s premises as
from as from the 14th of May 2020 for a much
needed mega-refurbishment. The whole
restructuring process will be paid for from the
National Development and Social Fund [NDSF] 10
million Euro grant given to Primary HealthCare in
2019. The much needed refurbishment will include
the installation of a new lift and increasing a brand
new Physiotherapy service and premises.
The temporary premises will be situated at the St.
Pinto Buildings in St. Albert Street (corner with
Gianni Bencini Street) Gżira. These premises will
provide the following services - General Practitioner;
Nursing; Blood letting; Point-of-Care anticoagulant
clinic, Treatement room and Wound management
clinics Other services like the diabetes and the
medical consultant clinics have been deployed to
B’kara health centre. The Gżira ophthalmic clinic may
be accessed from the Floriana health centre.
For further assistance and information clients may contact the client support centre on 21 231 231 or 21 222 444.
Gżira Temporary Premises
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closer to the
community. The new
community clinic will
offer a vast range of
services that include:
General Practitioner, Nurse, Podiatry, Physiotherapy,
Speech and Language Therapy, Mental Well Being,
Nutritionist and Phlebotomy.
Ms. Camilleri stated that the clinic will be able to
receive the first clients by the end of 2020.
The refurbishment process and all the available
necessary equipment will be paid through
the Holistic Overhaul of the Primary HealthCare
programme covered by the €10 million grant which
was secured by the Primary HealthCare in 2019 from
the National Development Social Fund (NDSF).
Roseanne Camilleri
Chief Executive Officer
Greetings to all…
At the outset, on behalf of the Primary HealthCare’s
Senior Management team I would like to thank you
for your sustained dedication and support during
the unprecedented COVID-19 Pandemic Crises. We
stood united by a common ethos of discipline,
flexibility, and co-operation that in the end made us
unbeatable in the face of this ‘invisible’ adversity.
Your collective efforts were crucial to help our
nation to cope and weather the crisis. Undoubtedly,
COVID-19 left us with permanent changes in the
ways we usually do things. Looking back, it gives
me a sense of pride to see how smoothly we were
able to roll out telework, flexible hours, split shifts
and more so that we maintained consistency in
providing our patients with the best level of service.
It also gives me great satisfaction to record that the
progress we had made in digitalizing the manual
patients’ record meant that we could, almost
instantly, push the Electronic Patient Record (ePR) to
full throttle. Likewise, in regard to the ePR IT
system. The Primary HealthCare’s health care
professionals were not only able to continue to
operate seamlessly through our Telemedicine
Teams Conferencing setup, but we also provided
daily monitoring and consultations to the over 500
COVID-19 positive patients who stayed in
quarantine or self-isolation at their homes in the
community.
While we remain prepared and vigilant for any
unexpected eventuality, the challenging task at hand
now is to get back on track in the shortest
timeframe possible. We need to embrace the
concept of a ‘new norm’ and while we cannot
change the wind, we can change the direction of
our sails!
You really make us so very proud!
Greetings
Signing of the agreement with the University of Malta
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In the beginning of 2020 we had not believed that
the novel coronavirus, later named as COVID-19
existed, or would spead to become a pandemic,
disrupting our society, keeping everyone in their
homes and closure of all public places. The new
situation has also changed the way our health
system functions, as mitigating measures were
immediately put in place by the Primary HealthCare
[PHC] management to ensure that our staff and
clients may practice safely and in a safe environment.
This news bulletin collates a small part of the big
measures that Primary HealthCare has put in place,
as our necessary services cannot be put on hold.
Thank you to our health care professionals and other
ancillary workers within the Primary HealthCare who
have continued to give a good service, facing a
silent danger, but going about their essential
business. Keep safe, wash your hands and wear a
face mask or visor when entering public places.
Any feedback/queries may be forwarded to me: [email protected].
Editorial
Primary HealthCare (Head Office). 7, Harper Lane, Floriana Telephone: (+356) 21231231
www.primaryhealthcare.gov.mt
Primary HealthCare has two couriers who have a
very important role in ensuring that COVID-19 swab
samples are received in a timely manner at the
Pathology laboratory at Mater Dei Hospital (MDH).
The couriers are on call 24/7 for urgent collection of
swab samples if transport of samples is required
during evening and night.
COVID-19 swab samples are taken by the doctors,
these are sealed in a biohazard bag, and batches of
samples are transported to the Pathology
Laboratory at MDH in purposely prepared plastic
boxes.
Samples are collected five times each day from
three testing centres, two in Malta (Pembroke and
Luqa) and Gozo (Xewkija), and from any health
centre where COVID-19 swabbing has been carried
out.
Couriers are provided with the required protective
equipment for the transportation. All the necessary
safety precautions are taken when collecting the
swab samples, during transportation and arrival at
the Pathology laboratory MDH.
Ms Marcon Grima
Chief Nursing Manager
Courier Service during COVID-19
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Dorothy Scicluna
Daniel Corso
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Electronic Patient Record
Dr Renzo Pace Asciak
Consultant Public Health Medicine
The ePR system brings the Primary HealthCare
within the digital world. It brings the benefit of
universal access of patient records wherever he/she
may be and eliminates the need to rely on a paper
file which can only be located in one place at any
point in time. This undermines patient safety and is
of paramount importance. ePR also results in: no
files required to be prepared for patient
appointments, no filing required, time taken to
maintain records is reduced to even below time
taken to write manually, electronic prescriptions,
artificial intelligence support (coming soon) and the
fact that it is a paperless solution therefore we
become greener.
The transition is being eased off by live training and
support but due to the Covid-19 situation it had to
be offered via Teams in a digital videoconference
style. This week we have restarted live training in
small numbers of 3 to 4 staff at most, taking normal
precautions and keeping social distancing. Gżira
Health Centre is the first to be followed. Next will be
Qormi and Floriana so as to achieve the full roll out
of ePR.
We auger all to use ePR so that we can benefit from
all the above and have timely statistics.
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A Primary Healthcare contingency plan for COVID-19
has been devised since January and regularly
updated as the situation evolved. The aim of the
contingency plan was to enable quick isolation of
suspected cases to avoid infection transmission to
staff and other patients. Preparedness is important
since health centres are the primary contact for
patients presenting with signs and symptoms of this
disease.
Primary importance was given to education
presentations and training. These consisted of
information regarding the virus, epidemiology,
contingency plan and infection prevention and
control recommendations for the management of
COVID19 cases. Training was provided to 721
healthcare workers and ancillary employees –
receptionists, security guards and cleaners.
Employees were trained through live demonstrations
regarding the type and correct use of Personal
Protective Equipment to avoid contamination.
Doctors underwent competency training on the
donning and doffing of PPE, and correct
nasopharyngeal swabbing procedure on a dummy
to mimic the real situation.
Mr. Adrian Pace
Senior Practice Nurse Infection Prevention and Control
INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
STAFF EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR COVID-19
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E very health centre has a Triage
point at the entrance. Source
control measures were applied by the
Primary HealthCare to promptly
identify, separate, and limit the spread
of potential persons infected with the
COVID-19 virus. The Triaging protocol
works on two principals: to comply
with the social distancing measures by
limiting the amount of people within
the health centre premises at any
point in time and to check for
potential COVID-19 infected persons.
Every person at the entrance, will
have their temperature taken and
asked if they have any of the listed
symptoms of COVID-19 illness. Those
who are all clear will be given a green
bracelet and proceed to their
appointment. Others who are triaged
as ‘positive’ will be given an orange
bracelet. The doctor will assess if the
client is an urgent case or not and the
patient is advised and guided
accordingly.
Triage at the
Health Centres
Checking temperature
History taking
Wear wristband
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On the 4th May, a new addition to the National Immunisation Schedule was effected. This
is the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine better known as PCV.
This vaccine protects against the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae which can cause
meningitis and septicaemia in very young children and in the elderly.
There are over 90 different types
of pneumococcal bacteria. The
PCV included in the National
Schedule gives protection against
10 types of pneumococcal bacteria
which can all cause invasive
disease.
The PCV is given together with the
other vaccines due at 2 months, 4
months and 12 months as a
complete course.
The addition of this vaccine brings
the total number of vaccines in the
National Immunisation Schedule to
six, which together protect against
13 different diseases.
Dr Victoria Farrugia Sant’Angelo
Principal General Practitioner
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Building the canopy in the Pembroke Testing Centre
Staff at Gozo Health Centre
Couriers delivering the swabs
Staff at Qormi Health Centre
Staff at Kirkop Health Centre
Works at the Luqa Testing Centre
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Building the canopy in the Pembroke Testing Centre
Staff at Floriana Health Centre
Staff at B’Kara Health Centre
Staff at Gżira Health Centre
Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Ms Roseanne Camilleri, CEO Primary HealthCare and
Dr Raymond Sammut, Clinical Chairperson Primary HealthCare visit at Paola Health Centre
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The first COVID-19 swabbing centre was opened in
Luqa on the 10th March 2020, where people suspect-
ed of contacting the virus or showing symptoms
could go and get tested. The centre is located in a
building on the outskirts of the Luqa industrial estate
in Ħal-Farruġ. The Primary HealthCare Maintenance
Team worked very long hours till late in the evenings
to carry out the transformation of the premises in
Ħal- Farruġ into the first National Swabbing Centre.
This location was chosen due to it being easily
accessible.
Two other swabbing centres for coronavirus testing
have opened in the North of Malta, to facilitate
swabbing operations and accessibility at the Luxol
grounds in Pembroke, and the Xewkija heliport in
Gozo. Location of the testing sites is important, as
the spread of contagion needs to be very limited. At
the Luxol grounds in Pembroke a 15 meter canopy
was erected in a very short time at the entrance of
the premises for the convenience of the patients and
medical staff. All the hubs are open from Monday to
Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Opening of swabbing centres in the community is
imperative to help identify persons
who have contracted the virus, helping
to curb the contagion and facilitate
contact tracing. Without testing, the
COVID-19 virus will spread further
across the country and cases cannot
be isolated – thus the chain of infection
will not be broken.
A Team of 9 GP and GP trainees who
fall under one of the vulnerability crite-
ria, and are now working from home,
are specifically caring for COVID-19
patients. These patients are following mandatory
quarantine in their households and do not require
hospitalisation, but still need to be closely monitored
as the COVID-19 disease can manifest from no
symptoms, mild to moderate illness to severe illness.
The doctors are also following COVID-19 patients
who have been discharged from secondary care
institutions. The doctors contact the patients directly
and daily monitor symptom progress and will liaise
with secondary care and Public Health accordingly.
Persons who wish to make an appointment for
swabbing are requested to call 111. Persons are not
to visit the swabbing hubs without an appointment.
Persons must not use public transport, a taxi or go
on foot, they need to use their own personal
transport.
The swabbing is carried out by a doctor wearing full
personal protective equipment, the person is then
asked to go home and await the result of the test.
The person will then be contacted by telephone by
the public health doctors who will inform the person
if the result of the test is negative or positive. Each
day more than 1000 swabs are being carried out.
Luxol ground Pembroke: 15 meter canopy erected by the Primary HealthCare Maintenance Team
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PODIATRY UNIT BIRKIRKARA Refurbishment and expansion of services
The B’kara Podiatry premises were in a derelict state.
After discussions with the Primary HealthCare [PHC]
administrative management and the Foundation of
Medical Services, it was agreed that the premises
would undergo complete refurbishment and a new
design.
Podiatry staff were extensively consulted and
encouraged to forward proposals regarding the new
premises that included:
▪ More efficient and effective use of space
▪ The design will be more user friendly to clients
and staff
▪ Increases in the number of clinics
▪ New specialised services to be introduced –
including one for persons with special needs
▪ Timely attention to high risk patients
▪ Improvement on current service provision
▪ More services will be added from Mater Dei
Hospital [MDH] podiatry, thus offloading from
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Over the past 7 weeks Primary HealthCare has
managed to set up a new Telemedicine centre in
our newly refurbished district clinic at Mellieħa
which is being run 24/7 from Monday to Sunday. It
has been a big team effort overall.
A Team of 23 general practitioners (GP) and GP
trainees were temporarily located at the Mellieħa
Community Clinic. The doctors have been taking
patient referrals from the Client Support Centre
(CSC). During the daily consultations the doctors
give medical advice, reassurance for patient
symptomatology, guidance on quarantine
protocols, health of patient contacts whilst guiding
patients to access all services currently available in
our community.
The doctors also carry out vetting of domiciliary
visits by liaising with the Health Centre doctors. To
date, we have made extensive use of Microsoft
Teams as a platform for videoconferencing which
offers a safe visual aid to our consultation while
ensuring more patient confidentiality and
reassurance.
A Team of 9 GP and GP trainees who fall under
one of the vulnerability criteria, and are now
working from home, are specifically caring for
COVID-19 patients. These patients are following
mandatory quarantine in their households and do
not require hospitalisation, but still need to be
closely monitored as the COVID-19 disease can
manifest from no symptoms, mild to moderate
illness to severe illness. The doctors are also
following COVID-19 patients who have been
discharged from secondary care institutions. The
doctors contact the patients directly and daily
monitor symptom progress and will liaise with
secondary care and Public Health accordingly.
This big challenge has been successful and the
PHC Telemedicine Centre and Virtual Care have
quickly become important tools in caring for our
patients while keeping our staff safe as the COVID-
19 pandemic quickly evolves.
Patients may also access the 111 helpline set up by
Public Health to assess criteria for swabbing while
guiding further patient management. Patients may
contact the Client Support Centre on 21 231 231
or 21 222 444.
A NEW 24/7 Telemedicine
Service
Dr. Patrick Galea
Specialist in Family Medicine
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How to use our online video call service?
Once you receive our email, open it and click
on ‘Join Microsoft Teams Meeting’
A new window will open in
the browser, to continue
click on ‘Join on the web
instead’
You will now be asked for permission to use your webcam and microphone,
to proceed select ‘Yes’
Enter your name and click ‘Join
now’.
You’re now online with your 1
2
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Protecting our clients from the hot summer sun
S unshades have been set up in front of various health centre –
Paola; Floriana; Rabat; Mosta; Kirkop and Qormi.
This very important initiative was introduced by the Primary
HealthCare management because of the COVID-19 measures that are
momentarily in place. To maintain public safety in the health centres
clients need to be triaged at the door, reducing the risk of contagion
and maintaining the state of social distancing within the health centre
premises.
Due to this, clients may have to wait outside the health centre
premises for some time. Thus PHC management identified a need for
sunshades to be set up outside the health centres. These sunshades
will protect our clients from the elements, especially from the hot
summer sun as the peak summer season is now fast approaching.
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Primary HealthCare on
Ms Roseanne Camilleri, Chief Executive Officer
Dr Ray Sammut, Clinical Chairperson
Ms Vincienne Micallef Bruises -Cuts- Bleeding
Ms Christina Desira Physiotherapy
Ms Bernice Micallef Primary eye screening
Mr Adrian Pace Infection control
Dr Patrick Galea Telemedicine
Dr Victoria Farrugia Santangelo Immunisation
Ms Janice Caruana Fractures
Dr Glorianne Pullicino Severe allergic reactions
Ms Jacqueline Sciberras Physiotherapy
Ms Jackie Cutajar Podiatry
Ms Josette Sciberras First aid
Dr Jurgen Abela Triaging at the Health Centre
Mr Jurgen Bonett Burns
Ms Fleur Bugeja Nutritionist
Ms Ilona Pulis Dietitian
Mr Ivan Farrugia Podopaediatrics
Mr Sean Mifsud Nose bleeding
Ms Doris Pace Midwife
Ms Sylvia Camilleri Cancer Screening Services
Ms Margaret Lia Epilepsy
Mr Ronald Barbara Angina
Dr Mario Blackman Skin cancers
Ms Deborah Farrugia Blood glucose testing
