The Malta Medical Students' Association (MMSA) has expressed its concern over the health minister's announcement that the Barts Medical School is set to open in Malta.

MMSA today said that its members have voiced their concerns about the agreement reached between the Maltese Ministry of Health and the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) to open a new campus of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry in Malta.

"The main concern of medical students at this point is that the introduction of a new medical school on the Maltese islands may directly affect their daily learning experience which may already be compromised by the increasing number of students admitted to the medical course," the association said.

It added that this might in turn result in "less proficient doctors to care for the Maltese population."

But acting head of the post-graduate training centre Ray Galea said that with the introduction of a new a medical school, the general situation regarding the Malta Foundation Programme "should not be affected".

"There may be more applicants, but this is bound to happen anyway, with or without the new medical school," he said.

"There is no limit that can be imposed on the number of applicants since all eligible EU citizens have an equal right to apply."

The programme was set up in 2009. According to Galea, the scope of the programme has been reached: "It is providing excellent training to newly qualified doctors, making it unnecessary for them to leave our island."

The programme, he added, has met all the stringent criteria set up by the UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO), so much so that it has been accredited as a recognized Foundation Programme training centre for the next two years by the UKFPO.

"This is no mean feat considering that it is the only such Foundation Programme outside the UK," Galea said.

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Medical students concerned over new school