Understaffing at the State mental hospital meant unfortunate incidents involving patients had become “inevitable”, concerned nurses have complained.
“The situation is unbearable and, quite frankly, it can be unsafe for patients and medical staff alike. It’s only a matter of time until we hear of another unfortunate incident that could have been avoided had there been more staff,” a nurse at Mount Carmel Hospital said.
The nurse contacted the Times of Malta, insisting on anonymity, after a patient meant to be under constant supervision escaped from the hospital on May 20.
Briton Tom Stewart, 59, was still missing yesterday after climbing a tree and jumping over the hospital walls while in an internal garden with his wife. He is the fourth patient to have escaped from the compound since April.
A number of nurses have since contacted this newspaper, expressing concern that staff shortages in the hospital meant the level of care certain patients required was not being provided.
Their biggest worry was with regard to the provision of what is known as level-one supervision, which is ordered for those who require constant monitoring.
Wards that used to be staffed by six nurses now only have one
“How can we provide that level of care when wards that used to be staffed by six nurses now only have one?” a nurse said. Management should not be blamed for the shortage, because it was the result of lack of investment by the authorities, the nurse was quick to add.
Few new nurses had been taken on in recent years, and those who had stopped working were not replaced, the nurse added.
Asked about this, a spokeswoman for Health Minister Chris Fearne said the number of nurses working in mental healthcare across the island had increased from 261 in 2013 to 306.
“The Health Department is endeavouring to continue strengthening the professional workforce in the psychiatric service. Meanwhile, the ministry is working on a dedicated plan for mental health,” she added.
The nurses who spoke to this newspaper, however, disagreed that their number had increased.
“The only reason why there appear to be more nurses is because certain services were shifted to Mater Dei Hospital and a few other initiatives. The situation at Mount Carmel still desperately needs addressing,” one nurse said.
The nurses said that to provide a basic level of care, which often did not match patients’ needs, they were working overtime on a weekly basis. Applying for leave was difficult, and many felt overworked, they added.
In 2013, this newspaper reported that most wards were being run without nursing officers, resulting in a situation that was described by some as “ships without captains”.
This January, staff at the hospital attributed the suicide of a patient meant to be under constant supervision to the fact that there were not enough personnel.
The Health Ministry spokeswoman said certain major issues, like admitting youngsters in wards for adults, had already been addressed as part of a services review. An expression of interest for private doctors to assist in reviewing mental health patients in the community had also been issued, she said.
The spokeswoman added that the health authorities were working with NGOs to increase the number of beds available in community hostels.
Meanwhile, the MUMN this afternoon also protested over the shortage of nurses and said it was declaring an industrial dispute.
It said there should be a nurse with every patient needing constant watch, but instead there was one nurse for every three such patients. As a result, recently, while a nurse was attending to a patient's needs, another had escaped.
The current situation, the union said, was not only stressful, but also dangerous. As part of industrial action, it ordered nurses not to make sworn statements before boards of inquiry.