Scuffle forces early opening of dual diagnosis ward

A scuffle between patients with drug-related problems and nursing staff on Saturday forced the urgent opening of a dual diagnosis ward at Mount Carmel Hospital that same day.

The ward caters for patients with mental problems who also have a problem of substance abuse.

Mount Carmel chief executive officer Edward Borg said that work to prepare the ward to admit patients was finalised a few weeks earlier and it was due to open soon after the completion of training by staff to be better versed in dealing with dual-diagnosis patients.

He explained that the protocol for the ward was already in place and although it would have been preferable to train nurses better, and open the ward in a formal manner, the scuffle that took place on Saturday made it imperative for the ward to be opened that same day.

On Saturday, an incident at the Male Ward One led to a group of nurses ending up at the casualty department for treatment after they were involved in a skirmish with patients.

Mr Borg said that while the hospital management was committed to giving the best treatment to patients, it was also committed to safeguarding employee health and safety. He said the right balance needed to be struck and, following the Saturday incident, the ward was opened immediately.

He said that four patients are receiving treatment in the new ward.

Mr Borg said doctors at Mount Carmel Hospital were working in close collaboration with Sedqa, the national agency against drug abuse. As soon as a patient's mental problems were under control, the patient was transferred to Sedqa's care so that the agency staff could address his drug problems.

He said that throughout a patient's stay at the mental hospital, Sedqa staff monitor his progress in close collaboration with the hospital's doctors. Mr Borg stressed the importance that a patient passes directly from the hospital's care onto Sedqa's care without any delay. He said that if patients were dismissed from hospital and spent time without treatment, their problems might reappear.

An agreement between the hospital and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses ensures that the number of dual diagnosis patients in wards where other patients are also being treated should not exceed two. The union was pushing for the dual diagnosis ward to be opened soonest because it insisted that it was dangerous to have more than two patients with drug-related problems in wards with the other patients.

Asked whether the opening of the new ward meant that this limit will not be exceeded, Mr Borg said the management could not control how many people needed the hospital's services. Management would do its best to have enough staff in the dual diagnosis ward so that people with both mental and drug-related problems can be kept in the new ward.

However, he said, he could not rule out the possibility that there would not be a time when the number of patients with dual diagnosis would be higher than could be admitted in the dual diagnosis ward. The hospital was committed to giving all patients a good service and thus could not turn away patients who genuinely needed treatment.

Mr Borg said that although there was no time to formally train the nursing staff who were working in the ward, there were a number of specialists with a detoxification background who would be able to offer assistance. He said Sedqa also helped train nurses. In the future, Mr Borg added, the hospital planned to give formal training to nurses working with dual diagnosis patients.