Many will consider a long wait in hospital to be a waste of time, but the introduction of internet services is a good example of how this time can be used in a productive manner.
The wi-fi service would make it possible for visitors to keep in touch with their places of work, allow students to follow their studies and other patients could use it as a source of information or entertainment.
This was the 10th point to be serviced with wi-fi, in a bid to increase internet access in public places, said Infrastructure, Transport and Communications Minister, Austin Gatt.
The realisation that internet was becoming an everyday need was beginning to hit home, he said, and this was a step in the right direction when it came to boosting the use of technology in daily life.
The services already available within the wards had been a success, and they were proof of the fact that technology could be a good opportunity to overcome the limitations set in place by an illness, as they allow a person to keep in contact and up to date.
The introduction of the internet in a number of public places, Minister Gatt said, would help to strengthen Malta economically, and if this was not done there was a risk that Malta would lag behind.
Although a visit to the outpatients department was never enjoyable, this was an improvement, thanks to Mater Dei Hospital, the Malta Communications Authority and the Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications, said Parliamentary Secretary Joe Cassar.
Dr Cassar expressed the hope that in the future the wireless service would be made available at other points in the hospital.
Maltese households could hold their own with other countries when it came to the internet, with 59 per cent having these facilities. Eurostat statistics for 2008 reveal that broadband use for 2008, despite being among the highest in Europe, is still relatively low.
The reason seems to be that the mentality in Malta is adults are reluctant to make use of these facilities. Ninety per cent of people under the age of 25 make use of wireless internet on an almost daily basis, in the case of people under 45, figures stood at 70 per cent but just 43 per cent of those between 45 and 55.
The discrepancy between the abilities of youths and adults was having repercussions in their employability, denying them the benefits of technology, particularly when it comes to access to new services, including eGovernment, internet shopping and social networks among others.
This project was just the beginning, and a number of other initiatives to bring technology within the reach of those making use of health services would soon be embarked upon.
The process of increasing access to computers and the internet in 16 day care centres for the elderly had been started. This would serve as a learning instrument, and those with mobility problems could use the internet to make friends via social networks, or speak to relatives abroad.
The decision to make an effort to start using and learning about technology had to be up to the individual, but various opportunities to learn more existed. Everybody was encouraged to take that first step, according to a statement by the Department of Information.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Chiara Bonello
Quelle/Source: The Malta Independent Online, 29.10.2009
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