The government has decided to employ all nurses due to graduate this year but not enough money is available to engage allied professionals, the Times of Malta has learnt.

Sources said the nurses and midwives’ union was informed there were no funds to employ all 160 nurses ending their course this year and that the government only afforded to hire 100 of them.

Eventually, the union called a meeting for the students involved and broke the bad news but then, the sources added, their parents started pulling all the strings they could get hold of until the decision was reversed.

The sources said that, usually, the government would employ all graduating nurses, midwives, doctors and allied professionals, including social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, laboratory technicians, radiographers and health inspectors, among others.

Such engagement was usually en masse because the health sector is always understaffed, mainly due to staff turnover, especially among nurses, the sources added. This time, however, the Health Ministry had informed unions there was money to recruit 100 nurses only, they said.

Now we are told that all 160 nurses and midwives will be employed

“That was the situation two weeks ago. Last week, the 100 increased to 122 and now we are told that all 160 nurses and midwives will be employed by the government,” Maria Cutajar, president of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, told this newspaper when contacted.

The sources said at the meeting with students, the MUMN had admitted there was little the union could do about the decision to employ only 100 nurses. The students were told that if they had a problem, they should “go protest at Castille”, the sources said, quickly adding that that was exactly what the students and their parents did, leading to the reversal of the original decision.

When contacted, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said it was the government’s “intention” to employ all graduating nurses and midwives.

“Recruitment of nurses within the public health is an ongoing process. This year, to date, 46 nurses have already been appointed while interviews are also being carried out to recruit more nurses. It is the Health Department’s intention to recruit all nurses who graduate this year,” the spokeswoman said.

With regard to doctors, the spokeswoman said 116 had been engaged with the Health Department in July and a record of 15 calls for consultants had been issued so far this year.

“Work opportunities in health are opening up also in the private sector with recruitment adverts already published for key posts with Vitals Global Healthcare and other private hospitals,” she said.

A spokesman for the UĦM Voice of the Workers, which represents allied health practitioners, said the latest information they had was that most of those graduating this year would not find employment in the public sector.