Malta, Italy to sign health protocol

A wide-ranging protocol which would permit Maltese patients to receive treatment within specialised hospitals, will be signed in Rome this afternoon between health minister Joe Cassar and his Italian counterpart Renato Balduzzi.

The protocol is a follow-up to a memorandum of understanding which Malta and Italy signed in December 2009, whereby organs from Maltese donors and which would not have patients to receive them, be transported to Italy and given to Italian patients.

Tuscan region health commissioner Luigi Marroni, Sicilian region health commissioner Massimo Russo and Lombardy region health commissioner Luigi Bresciani will attend today's meeting in Rome with minister Joe Cassar, and will also be signatories to the protocol.