MUMN urges government to call in police over nurses' uniforms issue
The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said today it was not intimidated by a statement from the Health Department that it might call in the police over a statement issued by the union yesterday over a shortage of nurses' uniforms.
In a statement, the department said there could not be interference of any kind during the government procurement process.
The union said it was actually encouraging the department to call in the police.
It explained that nurses and midwives are entitled to receive a set of uniforms every year, but the last consignment was made in 2008. No new nurses uniforms were handed out in 2009 and last year, and new nurses were still wearing their student uniforms.
Nurses were required to put on a new uniform every day and sometimes even more frequently because of their contact with patients, and the issue of uniforms was therefore important for the safety of the nurses and the patients themselves, the union stressed.
No patient appreciated the fact that a nurse might approach him with blood on her uniform from another patient.
The union insisted that the Health Department should immediately solve this problem and supply the nurses with their uniforms, including shoes, as they were entitled in their collective agreement. It again warned it may take industrial action unless the matter was resolved.
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F.Farrugia
Mar 24th 2011, 20:22
Sur Buhagiar , ippermettili nirrispondik pero fil-Belgium u l-Germanja in-nurses jilbsu uniformi differenti skont id-dipartiment fejn jahdmu.
Carmel Saliba
Mar 24th 2011, 19:22
And in Gozo even worse. If a nurse goes to bring his duty shoes from the store, he will be informed that they have no shoes of his size.
Nurses were entitled yearly as way back 1975 one for the winter time and another one for summer, a shoe and three pairs of socks.
Ray Buhagiar
Mar 24th 2011, 18:14
The problem with hospital uniforms is that every profession must have its distinct uniform to look different from other professionals. I find this highly amateur. One Hospital...One uniform for all health professionals.
I know some are going to write that in UK this is how it work. But in mainland Europe its one uniform for all.
Paul Caruana
Mar 24th 2011, 14:02
This is yet another example of how much we need to change certain local practices.
As has been pointed out, on what should have been a non issue, a large workers union threatens industrial action, the relevant government department threatens to call in the police over the entire affair, which action said union now agrees with!
?????
Frank Portelli 2BFRANK
Mar 24th 2011, 13:32
I simply cannot understand how we get ourselves into this type of issue.
If nurses are entitled to uniforms they should be issued them - end of story.
Let’s concentrate on treating patients
Dr Frank Portelli
Joe Pace
Mar 24th 2011, 14:57
I agree with you 100% Dr. Portelli.The last time we had uniforms supplied was more then 2 yrs now.