The new chemotherapy facilities in Gozo are hardly being used as a number of oncology consultants are falsely claiming that this would jeopardise patients’ safety, the nurses’ union claimed yesterday.

This was causing unnecessary hardship for cancer patients forced to seek treatment in Malta, especially when using the ferry in rough seas, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said.

In addition, weak patients who could not endure such an ordeal were having to fork out money for an overnight stay at a hotel.

The union urged the Health Ministry to investigate the manner in which chemotherapy services in Gozo were being “hijacked” by certain consultants.

It warned that if the situation persisted, it would go public and give “facts and figures” to back its claim.

While acknowledging that in some cases treatment could not be administered in Gozo, the MUMN said the “safety pretext” invoked by certain of the consultants did not hold water.

These consultants were also undermining the government, which last year invested heavily to provide state-of-the art facilities at the Gozo General Hospital, it said.

The MUMN questioned certain decisions taken by the oncology head at the Gozo General Hospital, saying he seemed more inclined to appease these consultants than to safeguard patients’ needs.

As a result, hardly any new patients were being referred for chemotherapy in Gozo.

Questions sent to the ministry were not answered by the time of going to print.