UHM presses Health Division

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin noted that the Health Division had still not denied its accusation that hospitals' autonomy was under threat.

Last week, the union's health section expressed concern that hospitals were not being allowed to operate autonomously despite the fact that chief executive officers had been appointed.

It had also referred to a recent case when the Mount Carmel Hospital management was about to allocate a particular nurse to fill a vacant post at the Psychiatric Unit at St Luke's Hospital, but had to allocate another nurse on instructions by the ministry or the department.

The nurse who then filled the post did not have the experience or qualifications in psychiatry, despite the unit being one of the front line wards in psychiatry, the union had claimed.

In a statement issued yesterday, the union said the Health Division had not denied this, even though a week had passed.

The union also noted that the health sector could not boast of good industrial relations. Instead, it faced impositions from the authorities.