Care workers' action 'may lead to bedsores' in elderly

Care workers at the St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly will from Monday not change the nappies of patients as part of industrial action ordered by the Union Haddiema Maghqudin over an allowance it is claiming for the staff.

The latest action comes hot on the heels of orders to the care workers not to help in the washing of elderly people.

The new directive was described by the Director of Health, Ray Busuttil, as a "blow below the belt" for patients, since leaving a patient soiled could lead to bedsores.

For a number of years, Dr Busuttil said, residents at St Vincent de Paul were kept bedsore-free but, although he stressed that all attempts to keep this up would be made, it would be more difficult when the new directive started being followed. A substantial number of residents at St Vincent de Paul are incontinent and therefore need to be changed regularly.

Bedsores will lead to discomfort for the patient, with their effects lasting for weeks or even months, Dr Busuttil said. The patients have already been hit by the previous directive to care workers not to help in the washing, since those who are incontinent need to be washed.

"Now they have really hit them hard," he said.

However, union section secretary John Briffa defended the directive when asked whether the union realised that this was to the detriment of elderly people, who would be left unchanged for a longer time. Mr Briffa said nursing aides and nurses were not following any action and therefore the job would still be done by other people.

Care workers at homes for the elderly have also been directed not to distribute pills. Mr Briffa said this was the job of nurses and not of the care workers.

When asked about the impact of this, Dr Busuttil said a contingency plan could be made for the situation to remain under control and vowed that all attempts would be made to ensure that medicines and injections will be given to the elderly people on time.

The dispute between the UHM and the government started earlier this month because, according to Mr Briffa, the union had long been insisting that the care workers should be paid an allowance in the same way as other employees working with the elderly, because of the risks involved in this type of work.

There are about 60 care workers employed at the government's homes for the elderly.