A group of midwives who graduated last July are still in the dark on their employment in the public service after bureaucracy stalled the process, the Times of Malta has learnt.

The 17 midwives, who graduated from the University of Malta, had passed the interview and were told that their induction course would start last Monday, but nothing so far has happened.

Sources said the same happened to a large group of nurses, who should have started their employment last Monday. They are now expected to start their induction course on Monday, October 3.

But unlike the nurses, the midwives have no date for their induction course.

We are extremely frustrated that we are now unemployed and without any source of income

“After four years studying midwifery, I was happy to receive my results and called in for an interview, but we are extremely frustrated that we are now unemployed and without any source of income. We were meant to start the induction course last Monday but received no word about it,” one of the newly qualified midwives told the Times of Malta on condition of anonymity.

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses is following the situation closely. Sources said the union was informed by the Health Ministry that the delay was due to the fact that President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was abroad and could not sign the warrants.

When contacted, general secretary Colin Galea explained that the process of employing the midwives and nurses was slowed down by bureaucracy. This was confirmed by a Ministry spokeswoman, who explained that for the new nursing staff to be employed within the health sector, an administrative procedure needed to take place.

This process started in July, as soon as the new nurses finished their courses. The procedure includes the interview process of over 200 applicants and the issuance of university and interview results.

She said the Human Resources Department within the Health Ministry sent a declaration template for each registered nurse to confirm that they had no pending disciplinary or criminal procedures, in line with Public Service Commission regulations.

Sources said only a few of the nurses replied to the email so the HR Department had to call the new nurses one by one. By the time this process had ended, it was too late to inform them about the induction course that was meant to start last Monday.

Instead, the course, which is a week of lectures, is expected to start on Monday. The same process for midwives is happening this week, with the hope that they too start their induction course on Monday.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Chris Fearne said yesterday that the nurses will be engaged with the health sector starting Monday. Of the 125, 118 are freshly qualified nurses, while seven are returning to the profession.

Unlike the nurses, midwives have no date for their induction course. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

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