Practically all Maltese say they are positive about healthcare quality

The Maltese perception of their national healthcare system – free for all despite its burdensome cost – remains amongst the most positive across all EU member states.

A survey for the Eurobarometer found 94% of Maltese respondents were positive about the quality of healthcare in Malta.

Although the majority of EU citizens (71%) say the overall quality of healthcare in their country is good, this masks wide differences between countries. There was little change since the last survey in 2009 when 70% said overall healthcare quality in their country was good, and 28% said it was bad.

But in general respondents in western and northern areas are the most positive about the quality of healthcare in their country. Almost all respondents in Belgium (97%), Austria (96%), Malta and Finland (both 94%) say overall healthcare quality in their country is good.

At the other end of the scale only around a quarter of respondents in Romania (25%) and in Greece (26%) say healthcare quality in their country is good.

There were some large shifts in opinion within countries since 2009’s survey: a minority of respondents in Lithuania had said the overall quality of healthcare in their country was good (40%); but this proportion has increased by 25 percentage points to 65% in the current survey.

Respondents in Hungary (+19), Portugal and Malta (both +13) are also now considerably more likely to be positive about the overall quality of healthcare in their respective countries.

Having well-trained medical staff is the most important criterion for high quality healthcare for respondents in 21 countries. This is particularly the case for respondents in Sweden (69%), the Netherlands (66%), Malta (65%), and Germany and the UK (both 63%).

In contrast just 34% of respondents in Poland and 35% of respondents in Slovakia say having well-trained medical staff is one of the most important criteria. In both of these countries the highest proportion of respondents mention “treatment that works” (50% and 54%).