Wards lying empty due to nurse shortage - MUMN

Around five per cent of beds and half the theatres in Mater Dei Hospital are not being used due to a shortage of nurses, Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses president Paul Pace claimed yesterday.

He said shortages also mean that three wards at St Vincent de Paul, two at Mount Carmel Hospital and another two at Zammit Clapp Hospital lie empty, while Mater Dei's Fertilisation Unit was still closed despite heavy investment.

He was speaking during a visit by Opposition leader Joseph Muscat to the union's premises.

"The situation at Mater Dei is like having a five-star hotel where you have to wait an hour to get a cup of coffee," he said, echoing the description of the Social Policy Minister himself, who recently said that the hospital was operating "part time".

The outburst came as nurses follow directives which see them refrain from doing any non-nursing duties, including clerical work, and not take blood samples. Their industrial action is over the staff shortages, failure to provide staff meals and the lack of a professional warrant.

During a rally on Tuesday, the union is expected to order nurses and midwives to work to rule.

Parliamentary secretary for health Joseph Cassar acknowledged the problem during the budget debate, saying that although the Health Department had employed 122 nurses this year, it was still not enough to meet the increasing demand for surgery.

However, he said the actions were unjust and affected scores of patients unable to have their blood tested at health centres.

But Mr Pace shrugged off the example, saying the tests were not urgent and reiterated his position that the actions were not affecting patients.

He insisted that the government never prepared a manpower plan to ensure it had adequate staff within the health sector.

"It is like having a rubber band which is being pulled until it snaps," he said, adding that another 187 nurses were needed just for Mater Dei and another 300 for the rest of the health system.

Moreover, he said bureaucracy is still creating hurdles for retiring nurses who want to continue working.

He asked why the budget for next year did not mention the planned overhaul of primary health care.

Referring to the collective agreement signed last year, the MLP leader said once the two sides had signed the deal, it had to be kept "with no questions asked".

He called for standards establishing the maximum waiting times for surgery, and partnerships with the private sector to be considered. In its electoral programme, the Nationalist Party had promised to have definite targets establishing the maximum length of time a person needing surgery could wait.

In Parliament Dr Cassar admitted that waiting lists for operations were too long in certain sectors. He said plans were underway to start using three new operating theatres to increase the number of ophthalmic and orthopaedic operations, which suffered the longest waiting time.