George Abela inaugurates biggest project of his five-year Presidency

President of the Republic George Abela this evening launched Malta's first residential home for the treatment of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and obesity.

The home will be providing multi-disciplinary treatment to patients - both on residential and out patient basis - free of charge.

Dar Kenn għal Saħħtek, Abela's biggest project of his five-year presidency, will be run by Foundation Kenn Għal Saħħtek. The foundation was set up jointly by the government and the Malta Community Chest Fund.

The inauguration was attended to by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the President's wife Margaret Abela, Archbishop Paul Cremona, leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil and former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi and wife Kate.

The project kick-started under the Nationalist administration when the former prime minister offered Abela the opportunity to scout different government properties for the ideal location.

The choice fell on the former Sisters' Quarters at Mtarfa and the MCCF acquired the property on a 99-year emphyteusis. The €2.5 million project saw the 1924 building being transformed from its previous derelict state to the present state-of-the-art facility. Its historic architectural features were retained.

"This is a very special day for the MCCF which for the first time has its own project. We are giving patients a new free health service, the opportunity of receiving care outside a psychiatric hospital," the President said.

Noting that the services will be provided for free, in reality they would still come at a cost and it was equally important for the patient to know how much the country would have invested in his or her recovery.

Abela said research hshowed a lack of holistic treatment for eating disorders and just under 2,000 persons in Malta suffer from an eating disorder.

This prompted the MCCF to take upon itself the challenge to transform what was a derelict building into a facility that has been professionally set up to provide multidisciplinary treatment.

Contacts were established with a number of European countries that provided a holistic therapy for these conditions. Abela recounted how during an official state visit to Italy, he found time to visit two centres that offered a holistic approach to treating eating disorders. Together, they started working on this facility.

Thanks to an agreement reached with the Umbria region last year, 25 Maltese professionals were specialising in the sector to provide the necessary care for patients suffering from an eating disorder in this facility.

The medical professionals from the Umbria region provided the necessary expertise to customise the facility in order to provide specialised treatment to different patients.

Foundation chairman Anton Grech described eating disorders as a new and hidden epidemic and in Malta it is at the same level as other European countries.

"As a person who has mental health care at heart, this initiave is very special. Psychiatry is considered to be the 'Cinderella' of medicine but the President delivered a clear message that this should not be the case," Grech said.

The house will serve as a halfway home for residents receiving treatment with a view to be re-integrated in society.

The holistic approach also envisages that family therapy will be available to the relatives and carers of patients. The assistance, sharing of knowledge and experience provided by the Italian professionals was invaluable and will continue to assist the multidisciplinary team at Dar Kenn għal Saħħtek over the next two years.