Mosta and Paola health centres saw most patients in 2024

The Mosta and Paola health centres saw more than 200,000 people each last year, including emergency cases and outpatient appointments, information tabled in parliament shows. 

The Mosta health centre received 101,070 patients who sought emergency treatment in 2024. The health centre also had 93,790 visitors who had outpatient appointments. 

Meanwhile, the Paola health centre saw 94,220 people who sought emergency assistance and 125,260 visitors who had outpatient appointments. 

The Mosta and Paola health centres are by far the busiest from the 10 regional facilities across the islands. Nine of the health centres are in situated in Malta – Birkirkara, Mosta, Bormla, Floriana, Gzira, Kirkop, Paola, Qormi and Rabat – and one in Gozo – Victoria. 

The information was tabled by Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela in response to parliamentary questions by Opposition health spokesperson Adrian Delia. 

The Floriana health centre was the third most visited facility after Mosta and Paola for emergency cases last year with 73,130 people making use of the service, followed by Gzira with 60,050 people. 

In terms of outpatient appointments, after Paola and Mosta, the Birkirkara and Gzira centres had the highest number of visitors with 61,040 and 60,990 respectively. 

A month-by-month breakdown of emergency calls shows that July and October were the two months with the highest number of patient visits across the majority of health centres. 

A new, bigger health centre in Paola dubbed by the Health Minister as a small hospital and which is set to replace the old facility situated in the main square, has still not opened its doors yet despite being finished. Works on the facility were beset by delays and legal wrangling. The government eventually cancelled the contract last October. 

The Health Minister told parliament last week the authorities were awaiting the completion of certification of all medical equipment installed before opening the health hub but gave no date for its opening. 

Named after the late Censu Moran, a Paola resident and a former Labour health minister, the Paola hub is expected to cater for around 130,000 patients. 

Meanwhile, the government has cancelled previous plans to open a second big regional facility to cater for the north of Malta. Such a facility was earmarked for St Paul’s Bay.