Renal unit nurses refuse to handle more patients

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses yesterday instructed renal unit nurses not to follow management directives to have four rather than three patients assigned to each nurse.

The action comes at a time when the profession is lamenting staff shortages and pointing fingers at the University for limiting the number of students it takes on the nursing course.

The actions have been labelled as “insensitive” by the Health Ministry, which, nonetheless, is having talks with the union to resolve the dispute.

The ministry said that while it acknowledged that the union had a right to voice its views, it should never be done to the detriment of the patients.

The union rebutted saying the proposal to have four nurses per patient was unsafe, stressing that its members felt an ethical obligation to resist the move.

Earlier this week, the union directed nurses not to take blood in health centres.

However, in relation to the charge that students were being refused on nursing courses, the University denied it had to date rejected any student from joining the nursing course. It said the numbers of both its nursing courses on offer could not be finalised because it was waiting for the results of the Matsec resists, which were normally published at the end of September.