The bed shortage saga at Mater Dei Hospital continues.
The government says an exercise will be carried out to find out how each bed is being used and consider in which areas could there be more beds. But three unions, one embracing doctors and the other two nurses and midwives, insist such a study is a waste of time because the causes are known and what is needed is action not plans. The unions are even threatening industrial action over the matter.
It ought to be recalled that the medical profession had warned that the planned new hospital had about 300 beds fewer than St Luke’s Hospital. Still, the authorities went ahead with their plans and, as forecast, the bed shortage problem has plagued the health service since Mater Dei’s inception about three years ago.
At the time, the solution offered by the health authorities was increasing the number of day surgery but it does not seem this has led to any bed vacancies!
A number of “reasons” had been and are being mentioned as giving rise to the prevailing situation: discrepancy between admissions during weekdays and over weekends; elderly people coming forward with their illness too late to avoid hospitalisation; the levels of expertise among emergency department staff over the days in question; the need of only those requiring urgent treatment to visit the emergency department... Talk of improving the health service is also constantly being mind, including extending the free medicine schedule and cutting waiting lists. The country’s humanitarian vocation that would possibly include the treatment of people injured in the Libyan conflict is raised too. In the case of cutting waiting list and offering treatment on humanitarian grounds, the hospital is likely to need more beds. If the hospital had more beds that would allow the medical and other staff to utilise the theatres to their maximum potential.
Given the bed shortage situation, which, according to the Medical Association of Malta, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses and the Emergency Nurses’ Union, has reached a critical point, those who planned the hospital, in terms of bed state, the way they did despite sound advice from the professionals may well be asked to step forward and take responsibility! That will go a long way in terms of accountability but very little, if any, in actually solving or, at least, easing the situation on the ground.
Industrial action is not likely to solve anything either, just as studies on their own will not. Yet, the unions should not simply brush aside an exercise that would scientifically evaluate the prevailing situation with the findings and recommendations being immediately made public together with an action plan, complete with specific target dates. After all, MAM president Martin Balzan himself called for a proper study on the country’s needs as a long-term solution.
What must be tackled immediately, of course, is how to solve the prevailing problems as soon as possible. As the Health Ministry said, industrial action would be to the detriment of patients. But so would inaction by the hospital management.
The bed shortage problem seems to have its genesis from bad planning or lack of foresight and ignoring those who were best placed to know the situation on the ground. So perhaps the best way forward is for the Health Minister to bring politicians, planners and operators together without loss of time to hammer out an urgent action plan. Having the patient represented too would not be a bad idea.