Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1536968
PATIENTS with ADHD, receiv- ing free medication from the gov- ernment, are unable to know the side effects since product leaflets are not in English, MaltaToday has learnt. Several parents of children with ADHD, and young adults who are themselves patients, have told MaltaToday that the patient in- formation for the medicine Mefe- da, a stimulant, being provided by the Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme, is only available in Croa- tian. Mefeda is the generic alternative to Concerta, which is normally prescribed by psychiatrists. "My son has just been shifted to Concerta but the POYC is cur- rently offering Mefeda instead and when I arrived home from the pharmacy, I realised that the leaflet in the box had no infor- mation in English," a concerned mother told MaltaToday. She added: "I would like to know what side effects Mefeda has and I find it hard to believe that every other medicine purchased from a phar- macy has to, by law, have a patient information leaflet in English but this controlled medicine does not." Her concern was replicated by other parents and patients, whose names have been withheld to pro- tect their privacy. Ironically, the first two words on the product leaflet included with Mefeda—Pažljivo pročitajte— translate into 'Read carefully', that is if you know how to read Croa- tian. All medicines distributed in Malta must be authorised by the Medicines Authority and one of the conditions is that the product literature include an English ver- sion, or a professionally translated version that is attached to the box. But it seems, the law does em- power the authority, in exception- al circumstances, to allow medi- cation to be distributed without a marketing authorisation if this is justified for public health reasons. A spokesperson for the Health Ministry confirmed that Mefe- da is one such medicine that has been granted an exemption. "This was done to ensure a seamless provision of this medi- cation to patients," the spokesper- son said, adding that some other medicines provided by the POYC have also been made available and distributed on the Maltese market under the same exemption clause. Brexit impacted medicines in English Justifying the distribution of medicines with no English-lan- guage information, the spokes- person said this "depends on how successful the procurement ef- forts are in securing bidders". "It is to note that the procure- ment of medication in the English language has unfortunately been severely impacted by Brexit," the spokesperson said, adding that the number of medicines pro- cured by the Central Procure- ment and Supplies Unit (CPSU), a government department, and distributed by POYC, varies from time to time. However, the ministry said an officially translated patient in- formation leaflet in English for Mefeda and other medicines like it does exist but these are not dis- tributed with the product when pharmacy orders are processed. Instead, these information leaflets are made available to community pharmacies participating in the POYC scheme as "attachments with email circulars". The ministry spokesperson said patients who need access to trans- lated information about their medicine "may be provided one by asking their community phar- macist directly" or by sending an email to the POYC. However, a pharmacist who spoke to MaltaToday lamented the POYC's decision to shift the responsibility of printing out the literature onto the pharmacies. The literature is several-pages long, and having to do so for each and every patient entitled to such medicines is unfeasible, the phar- macist said. "Not all customers are techno- logically-savvy and some would want a physical copy of the doc- umentation, which is perfectly understandable," the pharmacist said. "But it makes no sense for us to print pages upon pages of infor- mation—it is a waste of our time and an expense, which is being lumped on to us because POYC does not take the step to supply us with the documentation in the first place." The ministry told MaltaToday that to better address the situation it will be launching an app, from where patients can access the medicines' literature from their own mobile phone at any time. No timeline was given for the un- veiling of this app. However, it will still not solve the problem for those who are technologically-challenged and who would rather have a physi- cal, printed copy of the medicine leaflet. Meanwhile, patients continue to be supplied with medicines for which information in English is not readily available. Patients can email POYC to re- ceive a copy of the medicine in- formation leaflet in English: info. poyc@gov.mt KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JUNE 2025 NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER The European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 2021-2027 The Ministry responsible for European Funds would like to announce that it is launching a call for project proposals in the following area: Specific Objective 1.2 - Increasing energy efficiency and reducing CO 2 emissions through the replacement or modernisation of engines of fishing vessels. This call shall be open to MFA and MFB licensed fishers and shall specifically focus on the replacement or modernisation of fishing vessels engines with the aim to increase decarbonisation in the sector. By investing in more modern technology, the reduction of carbon emissions shall be directly affected, hence increasing Malta's efforts towards the promotion of a cleaner environment. Applications should be submitted electronically on the Structural Funds Database available at sfd.gov.mt/application by not later than 30 th September 2025, 31 st December 2025, 31 st March 2026, 30 th June 2026, 30 th September 2026 at noon. The online application form for the submission of project proposals and supporting documentation are available on https://fondi.eu/what-funding-is-available/replacement-or-modernisation-of-engines-of- fishing-vessels-scheme/. Any queries should be sent by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. Three dedicated information sessions are being organised on the following dates: 1. Monday 21 st July 2025 – Gozo Experimental Farm, Xewkija at 10.00 a.m. 2. Tuesday 22 nd July 2025 - Marsaxlokk, Pompei Hall at 5.00 p.m. 3. Wednesday 23 rd July 2025 – San Pawl il-Baħar, Alleluia Hall, Triq San Franġisk at 5.00 p.m. Register for one of the information sessions by scanning the QR code below: Concerns raised over free ADHD drugs with information only in Croatian Mefeda, a medicine used to treat ADHD, is provided by the POYC scheme with product literature in Croatian.