Relatives of bed-ridden patients asked to help

Relatives of bed-ridden patients are being called upon to lend a helping hand as state hospitals and homes for the elderly start facing industrial action.

Nursing aides, health assistants and care workers have been ordered by the General Workers' Union to only do food-related jobs, including handing out breakfast, tea and coffee.

Their job usually also includes washing patients, helping them get out of bed and changing diapers. They have been asked not to do any work related with the migration to Mater Dei Hospital.

Those working at St Luke's Hospital's outpatient department and at health centres have been ordered not to process medical files or x-rays and health centre employees are not taking appointments.

The health authorities have turned to relatives, asking them to help out to ensure that patients do not suffer needlessly. "They need to work together with the nurses," Health Minister Louis Deguara said.

Asked whether the government was thinking of extending visiting hours, the director general of health, Ray Busuttil, said relatives could attend outside visiting hours with the permission of the ward's nursing officer.

During a press conference yesterday, the health authorities voiced concern as to how the industrial action would affect patients, especially the bedridden or those who need help to get out of bed.

"It is an injustice to patients, who, ultimately, are not to blame," Dr Deguara said.

The union said the minister should know that whenever industrial action is called, innocent people are affected.

Among the most affected are over 1,000 patients at St Vincent de Paul Residence, those at Mount Carmel Hospital and oncology patients.

Almost all the workers at the residence and 90 per cent of those at Mount Carmel were following the actions, the union said.

A bedridden patient at St Vincent de Paul Residence described the impact such actions could have on her.

"If I am left in the same position for a long period of time, my skin would get covered in ulcers. They are very painful and it takes ages for them to heal".

Medical director Ronald Fiorentino said studies have shown changes in an elderly person's skin after a mere 30 minutes of not moving, adding that serious sores can take between five and six weeks to heal.

Apart from causing suffering to patients, sores can lead to infection and, at times, can even be fatal.

The hospital has seen an increase in such sores whenever similar industrial action was taken, Dr Fiorentino said.

Dr Deguara said even if the industrial action is called off after a few days, the repercussions on patients could drag on for much longer.

With tears in her eyes, the daughter of a terminally-ill patient questioned the fairness of such directives. "The union's dispute is with the government but it is patients who are suffering."

Dr Fiorentino said the actions would increase the level of dependence of the elderly, going against the home's policy to keep them as mobile as possible.

According to the minister, if the 900-odd workers follow the directives, they would only be giving an estimated 15 per cent of their typical output.

However, the government is still bound to pay them their full salary. The union said the directives should also be observed during overtime duty but the government has decided to put a stop to overtime.

The union has threatened to boycott any strike breakers.

The directives are putting added pressure on nurses, who have to do their colleagues' jobs apart from their own and Dr Fiorentino expressed concern that this could lead to burn out.

A nurse told The Times the action has a psychological effect on her and her colleagues. "Our leave has been cancelled." She is also worried about the impact on patients.

"Usually we clean them thoroughly, but with the increased workload we cannot do that. We used to have some time to sit next to them and have a short chat, but now we do not have time," she said, adding that people working directly with patients should not strike.

The GWU ordered directives because of three issues: Nursing aides' right to wage scale 13, the roster and a premium allowance for the three categories. As from this year, care workers have been given an annual allowance of Lm195.

The authorities are arguing that a clause in the last collective agreement lays down that salary scales cannot be changed up to 2010. They also said that a change in the roster would cost the government an extra Lm700,000 annually.

The GWU expressed its conviction that a solution could have been found if the government had not stopped talks on the issues.

It claimed that washing patients and changing diapers were not part of the work of the staff following industrial action. Dr Busuttil, however, insisted that such chores did form part of their job.