Update 2: Hospital situation improves

There were 28 patients waiting for a bed at Mater Dei this morning, against yesterday's 62, Health Minister Joseph Cassar said following a visit to the Emergency Department.

On Wednesday, the department warned of a severe outbreak of influenza which it said could cause problems for vulnerable persons, including the elderly and those suffering from chronic conditions such as asthma and cardiac disease.

Dr Cassar said this morning that the situation had improved with the government and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses working together to ease the situation. The MUMN, he said, had agreed with the transfer of 20 patieints to St Vincent de Paul.

The minister said that there was no place for industrial action in moments of crisis. He noted that no operations were cancelled and said that although the proposals submitted by the Emergency Nurses Union were being considered, the government did not want to increase beds since, by doing so, it would be placing more pressure on the staff.

He noted that there had been a 10 per cent increase in the number of admissions to hospital last year.

Yesterday, ENU president John Zammit said the Health Ministry was using what doctors described as a “normal” outbreak of influenza to cover up the bed shortage crisis.

He described the situation as “pitiful” and insisted the crisis was caused by chronic bed shortages and not some extraordinary outbreak of influenza.

In the first five days of January, there were 497 emergency admissions when compared to the 450 patients admitted in the same time last year.

Moreover, a ministry spokes­man said, between January 1 and 5, over 1,600 people turned up at the Emergency Department, an increase of 145 compared to last year.

“There are many factors contributing to this rise in admissions. To mention a few: the seasonal rise of influenza and other respiratory illnesses, routine surgical operating activity, routine day case activity and the growing demand for hospital expertise,” the spokesman said, adding there were no surgery cancellations.

The increase in admissions led to a situation where the hospital could not cope with the demand for beds.

Even the director of Saint James Hospital Group, Maria Bugeja said the situation was normal for this time of year. She turned down a request by the government for spare bed space on Wednesday because the group’s hospitals were choc-a-bloc.

General practitioners described the situation as “normal” and virologist Christopher Barbara said that, so far, there was no suspicion that the strain of influenza was more aggressive than in previous winters.

Michael Borg, chairman of the National Antibiotic Committee, reminded people, mainly healthy adults, not to rush into taking antibiotics if they came down with the flu as that would make their body resistant to the antibiotic they might need in future.

The problem of “bed-blockers”, or social cases, has long been known to be behind the problem, as patients waiting for long-term care take up acute care beds while waiting to be transferred to places like St Vincent de Paul Residence and Karin Grech Hospital.

On Tuesday, the ENU gave the health authorities until next week to sort out the overcrowding in hospital corridors caused by of the lack of beds.

To free up bed space for those waiting for admission, 18 social cases were transferred to homes for the elderly on Wednesday, the ministry spokesman said. These people were not suffering from flu and had been waiting in hospital to be transferred to homes where they could receive the medical attention they needed. They were moved to private residential homes that have an agreement with the government.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the ENU expressed its disappointment that it had not been invited to this morning's activity.

It said that the minister should discuss the problems at the Emergency Department with the union which represented the nurses who worked in this department.