I refer to Albert Fenech's letter Terrible Treatment Of The Aged And Infirm (October 24).
Mr Fenech criticised the service provided to his octogenarian parents from three organisations, one of which is the MMDNA (The Malta Memorial District Nursing Association).
As the director of administration of MMDNA it was my duty to check on this complaint.
The mentioned elderly couple, the parents of Mr Fenech, have been making use of the MMDNA community nursing service since last May on a fortnightly basis. During this period, Mr Fenech reported a one-off clash between his parents and one of the MMDNA visiting nurses. The nurse in question was called to office and reprimanded even though such adjectives as "savage" would hardly be used to describe an animal which has just bitten you let alone a dedicated community nurse. The principle district nursing officer (PDNO) did keep her promise of action and feedback and phoned Mr Fenech; however, the phone call was never answered.
With regards to the anti-flu vaccination, MMDNA collaborates with the immunisation centre of the primary health care service to administer the vaccine to all eligible housebound patients. The immunisation centre was to supply these vaccines while MMDNA nurses were to administer them.
When MMDNA was informed that the vaccine was available, bookings for the anti-flu vaccination started to be taken. Between October 10 and October 12, MMDNA clerks had booked over 500 housebound clients with the intention of visiting 100 clients per day starting from October 12. Unfortunately, by October 13, the supply of vaccine had run out and we could not keep our appointments with those clients booked for the following Friday, Saturday and Monday.
In the case of Mr Fenech's parents I can confirm that like all the other housebound clients his parents were registered on the MMDNA list as soon as they called on October 12 and their visit was scheduled for October 14.
It was not possible to call all the clients booked for these three days to inform them that the nurses would not be calling. However, the media had informed the public of the situation and all those who called MMDNA to query were informed about the situation and reassured that once we are supplied again with the anti-flu vaccination, in the beginning of November, they would be visited immediately.
Unfortunately, Mr Fenech chose to make a big ado about this situation beyond our control and did not accept our explanations over the phone and through my e-mail.
He insists that his parents had been left "waiting". May I state that our service in this case is expressly given to "housebound" patients, that is patients who are not in a position to go outdoors.
Mr Fenech might like to know that MMDNA deals with about 1,000 nursing visits per day most of which are made to elderly patients at their homes. Both the administrative side and the nurses take great care when communicating with them, be it through the telephone or when our nurses visit them at their homes.
Mr Fenech's statement that MMDNA has fallen to shambles is uncalled for. We can proudly say that MMDNA is still going strong after 60 years of a high standard of nursing service to the community and the great number of "thank you" cards which we receive are proof of this. We do have our deficiencies like other hard working organisations but MMDNA management does its utmost to correct these deficiencies for the benefit of the Maltese citizens.
I am sure that at the end of a hard day's work of an MMDNA nurse Mr Fenech will note that the duty performed by the MMDNA nurse is no joke, neither a mockery. It is a vocation!