Union complains of shortage of nurses

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses yesterday said the shortage of nurses was preventing patients from being given an appropriate level of care.

The union held a press conference in front of St Luke's Hospital to complain that finances were being given priority over health. It believes that the nursing complement in public hospitals is in a "precarious" situation but that despite this the Health Division has taken a decision not to employ a number of newly graduated nurses.

"We appeal to the government to reconsider its position so that these nurses are immediately given a job, in the interests of patients," union president Rudolph Cini said.

However, the Health Division strongly denied it was putting finances before people's health. It also rebutted the union's claims that the situation in public hospitals was precarious due to a lack of nurses and said the number of nurses employed by the division was higher than ever.

The division explained that during a meeting with the union last September, the two parties had reached agreement to employ 73 nurses and that their employment should be given priority. The 73 nurses had been employed.

It said that since then a number of nurses had left to continue with their studies and other nurses would be employed to replace them. These nurses were being employed on a casual basis until the call for applications was processed.

The division was not contemplating employing any more nurses but next year a number would be employed to replace those who stopped working.

The union is claiming that an exercise carried out in September identified more than 110 vacancies for nurses and, although a number of nurses were employed since, there are still more than 50 vacancies. However, Mr Cini added, the 29 nurses who had just graduated were not being given a job.

Mr Cini said several agreements with the division were not being respected.

The union's general secretary, Colin Galea, told The Times the union had discussed with the division the setting up of a system whereby nurses would be sent to different medical and surgical wards to satisfy whatever demand existed. Yet, this would now not be possible because of the shortage of nurses, he said.