Health policy under self-government 1921-1934

Abstract

'Owing perhaps to Malta's role as a fortress in the Mediterranean very little attention seems to have been given to its Medical and Health History’. By the First World War, Malta was again to play the role of nurse in the Mediterranean. This was certainly not the first time. At the time of the Hospitallers, Malta was not only used to fight the infidel but, with the Knights' Sacra Infermeria also to provide comfort and shelter for the sick and wounded. As a result of the Crimean war when Turkey joined the Central-Powers and it became necessary for the Allies to attack the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Dardanelles, Malta was also called upon to house the sick and the wounded. The Maltese rose to the occasion and housed and gave assistance to hundreds of men. Even schools were turned into hospitals.