Nurses at St Vincent de Paul Hospital have been instructed by their union to safeguard their occupational health and safety since the directorate within the Department for the Care of the Elderly had failed to do so.
The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said that for the past three months nurses were being forced to carry more patients because of the shortage of nurses and carers.
The MUMN accused the department of giving priority to the financial aspect rather than the occupational health and safety of its employees.
The union said an agreement on the number of nurses in particular shifts had been breached. Furthermore, a number of carers who successfully concluded their course three months ago had not yet been authorised to start working.