Mt Carmel nurses directed to leave wards in blackout

The nurses’ union has taken its industrial action to a new level by directing nurses at Mount Carmel Hospital to walk out of the wards if there is a power failure, even if a patient needs CPR at night.

In fresh directives, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses also instructed its members to place all ward gas lamps in front of the hospital CEO’s office in the event of a blackout.

When questioned, the union said it was not possible to do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in pitch darkness. The government should install a generator to make sure this problem was overcome.

This was the latest in a series of directives the union has issued to support its call on the government to address the worsening staff shortage at Mater Dei Hospital and the lack of policy and no generator at the mental hospital. Nurses have already been instructed not to pick up medicines from the Mater Dei pharmacy, not to give the treatment that was brought to the ward by subcontracted nurses and to leave the ward if patients became aggressive due to missing treatment.

Union president Paul Pace yesterday said the union had written to the director general for health services warning him of harsher directives in the coming days.

“The union is open to any meeting. We are not withdrawing the directives – that option was already given and when we gave it, it was used against us,” president Paul Pace said.

He refused to comment on whether it was true his union was demanding €2,500 compensation per nurse for the extra work they were doing.

The directives have sparked controversy because of their potential impact on patients and have been deemed “illegal” and “irresponsible” by the government, which issued letters to nurses reminding them of their legal obligations.

“Everybody needs to look out for the best interests of the sick and vulnerable,” the Health Ministry said yesterday. It thanked the nurses for their excellent services but questioned how, “instead of cooperating to continue improving the present situation, including in the recruitment of foreign nurses and training of more nursing students, the union is issuing directives that only serve to hurt patients and their families, and give a bad name to this dedicated profession”.

The ministry said it was open to discussion to improve the health services, even through the development of nurses’ training.

The union is backed by the European Federation of Nurses, who stated that “the Health Minister cannot expect the nurses to take up a role of porters” and urged the government to immediately implement a recruitment and retention strategy in the sector.

“Recruiting nurses from Pakistan is not an ethical, professional, economic and political solution,” the European federation said, in reference to the government’s recent recruitment drive.

The union has been crying out for both short term and long term solutions, asking for the numerus clausus to be removed from the university course so that Malta may keep up with the demands of the nursing force. It has also criticised the setting up of new projects by the government, such as the new oncology centre, without the government first providing the necessary workforce.

According to Mr Pace, the current situation forces nurses into taking overtime, sometimes working up to 80 hours per week. “The nurses are suffering more every day,” Mr Pace said at a press conference yesterday.

He said the industrial action was not illegal, especially in light of the fact that Article 64, which was quoted by the government, did not stipulate the definition of essential services.

The union further stated that inputting data in a computer and going to the pharmacy for medication – tasks which have fallen victim to the union’s directives – were not essential and should be carried out by support staff. It insisted that treatment was being given and that patients’ lives were not being put on the line.

The union said it had shown signs of goodwill, saying it had suspended directives in April for three months, during which it only had three unsuccessful meetings with the authorities.