More patients hit by industrial action

Yet more patients have been hit by the ambulance drivers' industrial action, now in its eleventh week, the Health Division said yesterday.

As a direct result of the dispute, patients are continuing to suffer delays in their treatment and prolonged stays in hospitals, it said.

In a statement, one of a series it is issuing to explain the impact on patients, it said the following services could not be provided to patients:

July 8: The Gzira health centre had a problem with its power supply and on-duty maintenance team of St Luke's Hospital were called. The transport service refused to transport the personnel and thus a taxi had to be used.

July 8: Three patients had to be sent to a private clinic for urgent CT-scans (since the CT-scan at St Luke's was undergoing some repairs). The transport section refused to offer their services. The hospital administration had no other option except to resort again to a private taxi service.

July 12: A patient from Mount Carmel Hospital was attending the accident and emergency department. He begged the nursing staff to transfer him back to Mount Carmel. In such cases and in normal times, the patient would be transferred immediately by one of the stand-by ambulances. However the ambulance drivers adamantly refused to transport the patient even though he was in a pitiful state. By the time a private ambulance came, the patient was extremely confused and agitated.