Staff shortages will mean that at least two wards and a number of operating theatres will not be functioning upon migration to Mater Dei Hospital, The Times has learnt. One of the two urology wards and a paediatrics ward will not open when the migration process from St Luke's Hospital is completed, the reason being a shortage of nurses.
This was confirmed by a Mater Dei spokesman who said the paediatrics day care unit and a second urology ward will "open in due course" because they are an improvement on the current hospital services and not available at St Luke's Hospital.
He also confirmed that 13 operating theatres - as many as are available now - will be functioning at the new hospital upon migration. Mater Dei Hospital has 25 theatres.
"This is due to a shortage of human resources and the present work practices," the spokesman said, adding that services currently available at St Luke's will be transferred to Mater Dei and become operational upon migration.
Other services will be up and running as soon as the necessary human resources become available.
When contacted yesterday, the president of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, Paul Pace said a shortage of nurses was the reason why new services and extra operating theatres would not be able to function upon migration.
The union has long been saying there is a nurses shortage, but this was more acute than previously thought, Mr Pace said. He pointed out that at least six nurses run each theatre, and unless nurses were available, the theatre would not be able to function. Moreover, theatre nurses needed to be specially trained.
Asked what was being done to rectify the situation, the hospital spokesman said a number of steps are being taken, including talks regarding new agreements with doctors and nurses, the recruitment of foreign nurses and a scheme for former nurses to return to work, which has already been launched and yielded some results.
There is also a "wider drive" to entice students into taking up a caring profession and this by giving nursing students higher stipends and removing the numerus clausus on the intake for nursing courses.
The new hospital is designed to maximise potential through more space and better technology.
"For this to be achieved we need more staff and better working practices than those adopted at St Luke's."
He said new services will be introduced gradually "without compromising patients' safety and without any setbacks to the existing service". Once staff has settled down at Mater Dei, existing services will "gradually be maximised" to reach the hospital's full potential, he said.
Mr Pace said there has been an increase in the number of nurses over the past decade but this was nothing compared to the increase in medical services being offered.