Updated: Nurses can lead clinics as independent practitioners, MUMN insists

In all developed countries nurses and midwives work in nurse/midwife led clinics as independent practitioners and assume full responsibilities as any medical doctor, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said.

It said in a statement that the Medical Association of Malta had given a false impression when it said that nurses/midwives had to fall within a medical team which always had to be led by the medical profession.

MAM said this was done to protect the patient.

MUMN said MAM’s statement clearly showed doctors’ eagerness to not lose one inch of power.

Nurses and midwives in Malta, it said, were fully qualified to give independent private practise according to their warrant.

“It is shameful for MAM officials using the blatant lie regarding the interest of the patients when in actual fact, MAM does not want nurses and midwives to affect the private practise of certain consultants,” it said.

MUMN said it fully agreed with Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea that, in the primary care setting, highly qualified nurses in Malta could take the initiative as their counter parts in other countries and start offering services which are non-existent in Malta’s health service.

All European countries, for example, had adopted the family health nurse in the community with great success reducing admissions to acute hospitals.

MUMN said that while nurses and doctors should work as a team in certain areas, such teams did not have to be doctor led.

In its statement, MAM also said it would welcome the extension of nursing duties such as taking of blood, insertion of intravenous cannulas for drips, duties currently performed by doctors, but which are mainly carried out by nurses in other EU counties.

However, this, it said, must only be done within a medical team led by specialised doctors.

European Union directives and Maltese Criminal and Civil law limited the practice of medicine to the medical profession, MAM said

It said that g practitioners had to follow a five-year specialisation course, while hospital doctors received specialisation courses lasting eight to 10 years after their five-year university courses. Even these doctors work under supervision during their training.

"MAM would oppose measures were non‐medical staff practice unsupervised.

"These practices are mainly introduced in remote or rural areas of third world countries, where no trained medical staff is available. The Maltese patient deserves the highest level of patient care, delivered by appropriately trained medical teams, supported by competent nursing and paramedical teams,” it said.