September 2016 opening for Barts Medical School in Gozo

A first intake of 60 students at the Barts Medical School in Gozo is expected by September 2016, MaltaToday has learnt.

Part of the Queen Mary University of London, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry is expected to welcome 300 students over a five-year period.

The government will be signing the agreement with the Queen Mary University of London today.

Speaking on TimesTalk, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed that a new hospital will be opened in Gozo while St Luke’s Hospital in Guardamangia will be reconverted through a planned €200 million investment by the private sector. A request for proposals will be issued.

“The investment in Gozo will see its hospital at par, if not better than Mater Dei Hospital,” Muscat said, adding that Barts Medical School was one of the top five medical schools in the UK. He said that the government’s plan includes an increase in bed space.

Giving an assurance that healthcare will remain free while workers’ conditions in the healthcare division will be safeguarded, Muscat said linking education and health was one way of the government’s innovative visions to generate economic growth.

The Labour government eyes both Malta and Gozo for their potential to develop as a regional medical and healthcare hub as well as a hub for educational and training services.

Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry is one of Britain's leading medical and dental schools with 1,600 undergraduate and 750 postgraduate students. It offers international levels of excellence in research and teaching while serving a population of unrivalled diversity, among which cases of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, TB, oral disease and cancers are prevalent.