By Times of Malta
The Opposition and the Labour Party on Thursday were involved in a spat over ADHD medication, with the PN saying it was substituted without English instructions while the PL pointing out how the government was procuring “scarce” medication through emergency procedures. Meanwhile the government is insisting on an English translation for instructions of all medicines sold within Europe. The PN highlighted the issue after it noticed that the medicine Concerta, which is prescribed for people with ADHD, was recently substituted by another medicine called Mefeda. However, this medicine contained only information in Croatian. 鈥淭his means that those taking the pills, and their relatives, do not know what the possible side effects might be,鈥 the PN said in a statement, adding that Maltese requires that medicines distributed to patients in Malta must include all instructions and information in English. 鈥淲here are the authorities who are supposed to be monitoring the medicines distributed in our country, even by the Government itself, when these are not in line with regulations? Who is safeguarding the health of the Maltese people if the authorities tasked with doing so are failing?鈥 the Opposition said. The PL pointed out that the majority of pharmaceuticals used to control ADHD conditions 鈥渉ave long been known and registered as scarce medicines worldwide鈥 and strict export controls have been imposed in many manufacturing countries. Despite this scarcity, the Central Procurement and Supplies Unit together with the Malta Medicines Authority are 鈥渕anaging to obtain a sufficient supply鈥 of these medicines for Malta using emergency procedures as 鈥渢he only practical means to guarantee a source of medicines鈥. 鈥淭he Government’s main priority is for these medicines to reach people in need on time. The Government guarantees the quality and effectiveness of these medicines and demands that a satisfactory translation be provided digitally,鈥 the PL said. The PL added that the government insists on a strategy in favour of joint procurement 鈥渨hich is essential for small countries with a small market like Malta鈥. It added that the POYC system now features 815 products with 32 new medicines added since January 2024. Government expenditure on the POYC scheme has increased from 鈧3 million in 2013 to 鈧25 million this year.